Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of All Elite Wrestling Rampage on February 18. This week's show featured the AEW in-ring debut of The Bullet Club's Jay White...
Kenny Omega Will Return to AEW from Injury in 2022, Says Tony Khan
Feb 10, 2022
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 15: Kenny Omega attends the WarnerMedia 2019 Upfront at One Penn Plaza on May 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan said Wednesday that former AEW world champion Kenny Omega will be back in the fold sometime in 2022.
In an interview with PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, Khan discussed Omega's health and when fans can expect to see him again:
"We miss Kenny Omega greatly. He's one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and was a dominant champion in AEW for almost a year. And I personally miss Kenny Omega being around very much. He's healing from a bunch of injuries, significant injuries. And he wrestled through all of that and had some of the best matches in the history of the company while he was really beat up.
"He really cares a lot about wrestling, and he worked his ass off to fill up and make his matches great even when he was in a ton of pain and could barely get through it. Now it's time for him to rehabilitate and heal, and he’s going to come back stronger, and come back, I hope, as good or even better than ever. I really believe the stuff he did while he was physically limited was so impressive. I think he was absolutely the wrestler of the year for 2021. And I'm very excited for Kenny Omega's return in 2022. It'll be a long time coming and we'd be excited to have him back."
In November, Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that Omega had been dealing with knee, shoulder and abdominal injuries, as well as a hernia. As a result, Meltzer noted Omega would "most likely" undergo multiple surgeries.
Khan said Wednesday that Omega was already banged up when AEW started running shows in 2019, and he marveled at the fact that Omega was able to have so many grueling matches while ailing.
The 38-year-old Omega has not wrestled a match since Nov. 13 when he dropped the AEW world title to "Hangman" Adam Page at Full Gear, ending a 346-day title reign.
Omega was a heel aligned with fellow Elite members The Young Bucks before taking his hiatus, but The Young Bucks refrained from helping him during the match against Page.
Adam Cole arrived in AEW shortly before Omega took time off, and he immediately joined The Elite. Now, it feels as though Cole is the leader of the group.
AEW has also signed Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish during Omega's absence. O'Reilly and Fish were members of Undisputed Era along with Cole in WWE NXT, and they have worked with him since joining AEW.
Things seem to be setting up for Omega and The Young Bucks vs. Cole, O'Reilly and Fish in the future, and if that is the case, AEW will have something huge in place for when Omega does return.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).
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The Rise of AEW's Hook from Team Taz Mascot to Breakout Sensation
Dec 30, 2021
If you are a pro wrestling fan, it's doubtful you've made it this long without hearing about the future legend known as Hook.
All Elite Wrestling has managed to do something rare with this 22-year-old. Not only is he already one of the most popular stars on the roster, but he has reached that level in one year with only two matches under his belt.
Some of you might be asking "Why is this kid so popular?" It's a fair question, too. He is brand new, has never given a promo, has had less than 10 combined minutes of ring time and rarely changes his facial expression.
However, all of that feeds into his mystique. Whether all of this was by design or a happy accident is unclear, but that doesn't matter when he is selling more merch than CM Punk.
Let's look at Hook's journey in AEW so far and how his booking has helped to create a mysterious and engaging figure.
A Slow Introduction
Before we ever saw Hook on television, his name was mentioned by Cody Rhodes during a segment with Taz on November 25, 2020. He asked the ECW legend why his son was training with him at The Nightmare Factory instead of with his own father.
This line sent Taz into a rage that saw him choke the current TNT champion out in front the world. A few weeks later, several students from the Factory appeared, including Hook. Taz got involved again, but this time he took his son with him.
As soon as he said "Let's go, Hook," fans were curious. We knew he was Taz's son and he was training to be a pro wrestler, but that was it. In every other way, this kid was an enigma.
Over the next few months, Hook would appear with Team Taz in backstage segments and at ringside for matches involving Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs and Brian Cage. He almost developed into the unofficial mascot of the group with his silent presence and cool demeanor.
The way he was used led to fans becoming more curious about him, and with that curiosity came a desire to see if he could live up to his father's legacy. Hook had already captured our attention with a minimalist approach, but it would take more than that to make him a star.
The Shoutout that Created a Catchphrase
For several months, Hook was the silent member of Team Taz. He never spoke and rarely got physically involved in any of the business involving the other members of the team unless it was absolutely necessary.
Then, CM Punk came along. With two simple words, he began a small social media movement nobody could have predicted. When he was talking about the people he would fight, he told Taz to "Send Hook."
That was just a few months ago, but it has already become an unofficial catchphrase on his newest shirt. It is so synonymous with Hook that when WWE tweeted out "Send Veer" on Monday, hundreds of fans responded to it by mentioning Hook.
By expressing a desire to face the newcomer, Punk created more intrigue around his character. If somebody like Punk has his eye on him, then there must be something special about this kid, right?
An Effective Debut
On December 10, Hook had his first pro wrestling match ever, and he did it on national television. That kind of pressure can get to seasoned performers, but Hook played it off like it was just another day at the office.
His first victory was over Fuego Del Sol in decisive fashion. In just a couple of minutes, he had the masked superstar tapping out to a version of the Tazmission.
In that short amount of time, Hook showed off impressive athleticism, technical ability and tempered charisma. In his second bout with Bear Bronson, he displayed surprising power by suplexing the big man with ease.
With these two matches, AEW has quickly established Hook as someone to watch in 2022. Even in a year when we saw the return of CM Punk to the business, Bryan Danielson's AEW debut, Minoru Suzuki's U.S. tour and Hangman Adam Page win the AEW title, Hook still managed to stand out with minimal screen time.
Granted, these are short performances. We have no idea what kind of match he could have against someone like Danielson or Kenny Omega, but there is plenty of time for Hook to grow into whatever AEW needs him to be.
Even Jim Cornette, who is one of AEW's biggest critics, praised Hook's first two outings. If he can win over a veteran of the business like Cornette this quickly, there is no limit to what Hook can accomplish.
Instead of creating endless video packages to hype his debut or having him deliver a series of scripted promos, AEW just sat back and let wrestling fans market Hook themselves.
What started as a meme quickly became genuine curiosity. Fans wanted to see if Hook could live up to the hype we had built for him through endless jokes and tweets. Was our fandom misplaced, or was he the real deal?
The more people talked about him, the more other people wanted to know what he was all about. It was a pure word-of-mouth campaign that led to Hook's debut becoming one of the most heavily anticipated events of the year.
This Hook thing is wild. Not pandering for the reaction is important work on his part and exponentially helps cultivate a star-like charisma.
When he managed to impress in his first outing, his supporters were empowered to be even louder about their love for the floppy-haired fighter. He's the Popeye's chicken sandwich of the wrestling world. Once somebody likes him, they will tell everybody else about him.
AEW has certainly fed into this on social media, but Hook stans are the ones who have pushed him from being just another prospective talent to being one of the most talked-about people in the entire company.
What's Next?
Hook going to build up a Goldberg win-streak in #AEW.
I just caught up with Rampage and my good HOOK's second match was awesome. Also lol at Cody winning that awesome main event. This must've been fun when it happened.
With a strong debut and follow-up match already in the books, Hook now must focus on keeping that momentum going.
The first thing we need from this kid is a promo. Taz has done all of the talking for him, but at some point, Hook needs to prove he can speak for himself. It doesn't have to be too long, it just needs to be effective.
Nobody is expecting him to be the best talker in the business right away, but holding his own against someone with more experience in a verbal exchange is all he needs to do in order to keep things moving in the right direction.
After he has a few more easy wins under his belt, a real rival needs to emerge. Hook needs his Peter Pan, and there are a lot of people on the roster who could fill that role.
*me, gasping for my final breath of air as I'm about to pass out from over-eating, reaching to the sky to muster out my last words*
If he is going to be a heel, having him battle somebody like Jungle Boy, Lee Moriarty or Sammy Guevara would put him on the map. If he works as a babyface or tweener, Daniel Garcia or Kip Sabian would be a good choice.
Another option would be forming a tag team with Ricky Starks. As two of AEW's brightest young stars, they could add something new to the division that has been dominated by FTR, The Lucha Bros and The Young Bucks in 2021.
With Starks having the edge in experience, he could help carry the load in the ring until Hook is more comfortable giving longer performances. Or better yet, if AEW introduces a set of Trios Championships, they could team up with Powerhouse Hobbs.
Whatever he does next, Hook already has the support of AEW fans. If he can remain healthy, keep improving and take the time to listen to the veterans who surround him in the locker room, he will be a very valuable member of the AEW roster moving forward.
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Kevin Owens WWE Contract Rumors, Brock Lesnar vs. Bron Breakker; Gargano vs. Omega
Dec 17, 2021
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.
Details on Kevin Owens' New WWE Contract
Kevin Owens confirmed Thursday that he signed a new contract with WWE that will keep him in the company for "several" years.
In an interview with TVA Sports' Pat Laprade and Kevin Raphael (h/t Fightful's Jeremy Lambert), Owens called the decision to re-sign "pretty easy" because it was "the best thing for my family."
Since KO made his new deal official, some reported details regarding the contract have emerged.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Michael Perry of Ringside News) reported that Owens will make between $2 million and $3 million annually, which was an offer believed to be "a better deal than he could get in AEW."
Owens was viewed as a strong candidate to go to AEW since he is close friends with several wrestlers in the company, including The Young Bucks and Adam Cole, the latter of whom recently left WWE for AEW when his contract expired.
KO stayed with WWE despite his AEW ties, but it has been reported that there are no hard feelings on AEW's end.
Per Fightful Select (h/t Manik Aftab of Ringside News), some in AEW spoke on the condition of anonymity and said they were "happy" for Owens and the fact that he was able to provide for his family.
Some in AEW also expressed their belief that Owens going from WWE to AEW will still be on the table when his new contract expires.
One concern some wrestlers may have regarding signing or re-signing with WWE is the fact that the company has released about 80 in-ring performers this year.
Because of that, asking for a no-cut clause in a WWE contract could become commonplace, but Meltzer (h/t Perry) reported that there is no can't-cut clause in Owens' new contract.
Given that WWE just gave Owens a massive contract and is positioning him as one of the top stars on Raw, it is difficult to imagine the company parting ways with him any time soon.
Breakker Wants Match vs. Lesnar
Bron Breakker is one of the fastest-rising stars in WWE, and he has his sights set on one of the biggest stars of all time.
During an appearance on WWE El Brunch (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Sai Mohan), Breakker acknowledged that he would like to wrestle Brock Lesnar in the future:
I met him, I want to say like 2017, maybe or something like that. I went backstage to a Raw when I was in college. I met him there, but as a performer, I haven't ran into him. Yeah, I'd love to work with Brock.
He is an animal. I think he would kind of like Roddy [Strong] elevate me. You know, force me to elevate and bring my game up as well. I think Brock would do the same thing, and I think it would be a war.
Breakker, who is the son of former WWE and WCW star Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner, is still in the embryonic stages of his career.
He signed with WWE in February after the conclusion of his college football career at Kennesaw State, and he made his WWE in-ring debut on the Sept. 14 episode of NXT, which was the first official episode of NXT 2.0.
Breakker has essentially been the face of the new era of NXT, and the 24-year-old likely won't have to wait much longer before becoming NXT champion.
Lesnar is perhaps the biggest draw in WWE thanks to his status as an eight-time world champion in the company and a former UFC heavyweight champion.
There is no telling how much longer the 44-year-old Lesnar intends to wrestle, but he is still on top of his game and set to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Day 1.
If Lesnar is still competing when Breakker makes his way to the main roster, a match between them could be one of the most desirable bouts available to the company.
Gargano Calls Omega 'Dream' Opponent
Johnny Gargano fueled speculation regarding his future in professional wrestling this week based on what he said about AEW star Kenny Omega.
Gargano was asked about Omega during his Twitch stream (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton) and responded by saying: "I think Kenny is one of, if not, the best wrestler in the world currently. So, I know that's a dream match for a lot of people, me and Kenny, and it's a dream match for me, too. So, who knows what can happen one day."
Gargano's contract with WWE ended last week, making him a free agent who is clear to sign with any wrestling company.
Since the expiration of his WWE contract, Gargano has re-opened his Pro Wrestling Tees shop, while also launching Twitch and YouTube accounts.
None of that would have been possible under a WWE contract, which has led fans to wonder whether Johnny Wrestling is done with WWE.
Gargano and WWE NXT star Candice LeRae are expecting their first child in February, though, and Gargano's recent moves could simply be his way of making money while taking some time away from wrestling in anticipation of the birth.
During his time with NXT from 2015-21, Gargano became synonymous with the brand, holding the NXT, North American and NXT Tag Team Championships.
He also competed on more NXT TakeOver cards than any other wrestler, earning him the nickname Johnny TakeOver.
With NXT focusing more on younger and less-experienced wrestlers in recent months, it is fair to wonder if NXT is still the best place for the 34-year-old Gargano.
Returning to WWE and going to the main roster remains a possibility, or Gargano could follow in the footsteps of many former WWE Superstars by signing with AEW, and subsequently having his dream match against the former AEW World champion in Omega.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.
