Chris Jericho

On the final edition of the Wednesday night wrestling war, WWE NXT used Night 1 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver to defeat AEW Dynamite in the ratings battle.

According to Showbuzz Daily, NXT's two-hour show on USA Network averaged 768,000 viewers, while the two-hour episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT averaged 688,000 viewers.

The main event of Night 1 of TakeOver saw Io Shirai and Raquel Gonzalez do battle over the NXT Women's Championship in a highly entertaining match that changed the complexion of the NXT women's division in a big way.

After 304 days as champion, the third-longest reign in the history of the title behind Asuka and Shayna Baszler, The Joshi Judas dropped the NXT Women's Championship to Gonzalez, putting the dominant Texan atop the mountain.

There were also two other title matches on the show, one of which was a United Kingdom Championship match pitting Walter against Tommaso Ciampa.

Ciampa pushed Walter to the limit and showed signs of being his old self, but the leader of Imperium ultimately put Ciampa down with a devastating chop and extended his title reign of two-plus years.

The other title match was a Triple Threat for the vacant NXT Tag Team Championships. MSK accomplished their dreams by beating The Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma to become the new champs.

Also on TakeOver, Pete Dunne defeated Kushida in an excellent opening match, and Bronson Reed won a gauntlet that also included LA Knight, Dexter Lumis, Cameron Grimes, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Leon Ruff to earn a title match against North American champion Johnny Gargano on Night 2 of TakeOver.

Dynamite featured the return of boxing legend Mike Tyson several months after he tussled with Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle. This time around, Tyson and Jericho showed a sign of respect by shaking hands after Tyson punched Shawn Spears of The Pinnacle.

It was also announced that The Inner Circle and The Pinnacle will face each other in the first-ever Blood and Guts match on the May 5 Dynamite.

The main event of Dynamite featured AEW World champion Kenny Omega teaming with The Good Brothers against Jon Moxley and The Young Bucks.

In the latter stages of the match, The Young Bucks hit Moxley with double superkicks, allowing Omega and The Good Brothers to win. The Bucks then doubled down after the match and superkicked Mox again, cementing their heel turn.

Also on Dynamite, Hangman Adam Page beat Max Caster, Darby Allin retained the TNT Championship against JD Drake, Tay Conti defeated The Bunny, Sting had a promo segment with Lance Archer, and Taz offered Christian Cage a spot on Team Taz.

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The Inner Circle might have added an enforcer Wednesday night.

Mike Tyson made his way to the ring during All Elite Wrestling Dynamite to provide some support for faction leader Chris Jericho as he was getting overwhelmed by Pinnacle. Iron Mike targeted Shawn Spears and laid in a number of punches before the rest of the Inner Circle arrived on the scene.

Tyson then shook hands with Jericho.

The former boxing champion was in a far more conciliatory mood toward Jericho compared to the last time the two crossed paths. Last May, they got into a shoving match, which required the intervention of multiple officials from backstage.

Earlier Wednesday night, Jericho laid down the gauntlet to MJF and Pinnacle, challenging them to a Blood and Guts match May 5. While it's doubtful Tyson will be one of the five members representing the Inner Circle, he could still potentially find a way to make his presence felt on the outside.

Or perhaps Tyson's appearance was another one-off to bring some finality to his rivalry with the Demo God.

Pinnacle might have to watch their backs just in case.

AEW announced Tuesday that boxing legend Mike Tyson will appear on Wednesday night's episode of Dynamite on TNT.

Tyson last made an appearance for AEW in May when he awarded the TNT Championship to Cody Rhodes at Double or Nothing after Cody beat Lance Archer. Tyson then showed up on the subsequent episode of Dynamite.

He closed the show in explosive fashion when he and his group got into a brawl with Chris Jericho and the rest of The Inner Circle.

Nothing more came of the scuffle between Tyson and Jericho, but Jericho later said the original plan was for them to have a match at All Out in September 2020.

Appearing on his Saturday Night Special show back in October, Jericho said, "Originally, I was supposed to work with Tyson at the September pay-per-view, All Out II, and we just couldn't get it done in time."

Rather than wrestling, Tyson returned to boxing and competed in his first fight since 2005. The 54-year-old fought Roy Jones Jr. to a draw in November and appeared to be in excellent shape.

Tyson has been planning to fight again, although a highly anticipated bout against Evander Holyfield fell through, and it is currently unclear who Iron Mike will face next.

Given the revival Tyson has experienced in terms of popularity, it is no surprise that AEW is jumping at the opportunity to bring him back in, especially on a night that it faces stiff competition.

This week will mark the final time that Dynamite and WWE NXT air on the same night, as NXT will move from Wednesdays to Tuesdays beginning next week.

NXT has a great chance to win the ratings battle this week, though, as it will air Night 1 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver on Wednesday with Night 2 streaming Thursday on Peacock.

With Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez, Walter vs. Tommaso Ciampa and more, NXT is poised to give wrestling fans a pay-per-view-caliber show Wednesday.

Tyson could help draw some eyes back toward the AEW product, though, especially if there are any plans in place to set the stage for a future match involving the WWE Hall of Famer.

It is difficult to envision Tyson and Jericho going at it again since Jericho and The Inner Circle recently turned face and are embroiled in a bitter feud with MJF and his Pinnacle faction.

Perhaps Tyson will get involved in that rivalry in some way, or AEW could be planning to have him mix it up with someone else in order to spread out the big angles even more effectively.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.

Christian Talks WWE Return

Christian Cage appeared on the Talk Is Jericho podcast last week to discuss his long-awaited return to the ring. Christian said his motivation came after seeing Edge being cleared after nearly a decade out of the business.

While their injuries were not the same—Edge retired because of spinal stenosis and Christian because of concussions—he said he hoped his seven-year layoff would be enough to allow him to "finish [his] career on [his] own terms." After being independently cleared by his own doctor, Christian said he contacted WWE, and the company sent him to Pittsburgh for further evaluation.

WWE's doctors cleared Christian for a return, but he then went months without hearing from the company until it was looking for a Royal Rumble surprise.

"I legit hadn't been in the ring since June when I was at Edge's place, and before that, it had been seven years. I go, hopefully, it's like riding a bike, and I'll just pick it right back. They obviously have rings backstage. I was like, maybe I'll be able to sneak in a ring and just hit the ropes, but there was people in those rings all day, so I couldn't even do it because I'm the surprise. Legit, I didn't get changed till the match before the Rumble was in, and I got changed, walked down.

"Everybody in the hall is like, 'Oh my gosh!' I was just there hanging out for the day. It's not out of the realm of possibility for me to be around. I was there three weeks previous doing some stuff for The Network. It's not like I'm not around, so people are used to seeing me around. 'Oh, we see another guy,' and then I kind of laugh it off and then walk out. When the match actually started, I knew I would have about 40–45 minutes before I had to be in there. I got in the ring, hit the ropes about five times, took about five bumps just to get that initial shock in your system. I was like, all right, that's gonna have to do it."

Christian's appearance in WWE wound up being a one-off, as he didn't ink a new deal and ultimately signed in AEW. His match with Frankie Kazarian on Wednesday's Dynamite was his first singles competition in seven years.

Moxley Challenges Yuji Nagata for IWGP US Title

Fresh off his some would say surprising win over Kenta at NJPW Strong to retain his IWGP United States championship, Jon Moxley now has his sights set on Yuji Nagata. Mox cut a promo on the 52-year-old Japanese wrestling legend, saying he's "big-game hunting" for a dream match against Nagata.

The former AEW champion has held the IWGP U.S. title for more than a year, becoming the longest-reigning champion in that belt's history. The COVID-19 pandemic left Mox unable to defend the championship for most of 2020, so it's likely he's ticking off some of the boxes he wanted to uncheck last year.

Nagata held the IWGP heavyweight championship on two occasions and was the 2001 winner of G1. 

It's likely Moxley will eventually lose the championship at some point this year, but he is a strong bet to defeat Nagata, who is at a point in his legacy where titles aren't particularly necessary. It'll be interesting to see how NJPW handles the feud because Mox's match against Kenta was one of the most anticipated of 2021.

Rollins Tweets at Cena

Apparently, Seth Rollins is very into astrology.

Rollins responded to one of John Cena's motivational tweets Sunday, citing his Gemini nature as a reason he likes change:

It's not entirely clear if this tweet was sent in kayfabe or in earnest. All caps typically is meant to convey some level of sarcasm, but you never truly know with Rollins' social media game.

Regardless, it was all in good fun, and hopefully we'll see Rollins and Cena in a WWE ring at some point together in 2021. 

Stone Cold Steve Austin and Chris Jericho busted open the forbidden door no one thought would ever open between AEW and WWE when they announced Jericho would appear on Broken Skull Sessions set to air next Sunday after WrestleMania.

As he prepares for the interview to air, Austin spoke to Wrestling Inc.'s Nick Hausman about how he enjoys AEW giving WWE some competition in the wrestling business.

"Man, I love it," Austin said. "I think it's competition by proxy just because they're wrestling, WWE's wrestling, but I don't think they're directly trying to compete. But in essence, they are and I love it because it gives more people within any of this jobs. It gives more people a chance to work. And it makes WWE, you know, forces them to push the envelope rather than just sit back and push out content. Competition makes everybody better."

Austin said the relationship isn't quite the same as the Monday Night Wars, when it was clear WCW and WWE were trying to put one another out of business for good. He sees AEW as a type of quality gatekeeper for WWE, forcing the company to not get complacent.

"The product is better because you're forced," Austin said. "'What are these cats doing over here? This friggin' stuff. We gotta up it a little bit!' There's checks and balances. I remember when we put WCW out of business. I remember going up to Vince and saying, 'Was it our mission to put them out of business?' They kicked our ass for two years, you know, but I didn't know that was the mission! We just wanted to win the ratings war. Of course, he ends up buying them for pennies on the dollar; that's the genius of Vince McMahon. But to answer your question, yes, AEW is a good thing. It's a good thing for everybody, including WWE."

It's fair to say WWE's product has gotten better since AEW's arrival. Both companies deserve some level of praise for their handling of the pandemic, continuing to produce shows with bare-bones crews and in many cases without (or with greatly limited) fan attendance.

Austin said McMahon told him in the past that other promoters lack his foresight, which allowed the WWE chairman to buy nearly every major promotion in the United States and create a near-monopoly on mainstream wrestling until AEW's arrival. While Austin needed McMahon's permission to have Jericho on Broken Skull Sessions, he joked their relationship is a bit different now than it was in the Attitude Era.

"He don't even take my phone calls, but let me tell you, back when I was working on top, when I called Vince, that phone didn't ring a half time before he picked it up," Austin said. "Now I'll send him a text message and I'll get an answer back in a couple of days."

WWE shockingly announced Friday that All Elite Wrestling star Chris Jericho will appear on Broken Skull Sessions with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on Peacock and the WWE Network on April 11.

The surprising crossover was made official with the following tweet:

WWE teased Jericho's sit-down interview with Austin on Thursday with a countdown clock reminiscent of the one that started Jericho's original entrance in WWE:

By waiting until April Fools' Day passed, WWE erased any doubts about the authenticity of the landmark event.

When Jericho and Austin appear on Peacock and WWE Network on the same day that Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 takes place, it will mark the first time that a current AEW performer appears on WWE programming via original content.

While the 50-year-old is one of the faces of AEW and a former AEW World champion, he reached megastar status during his time in WWE.

After competing in WCW from 1996-99, he signed with WWE and made his debut for the promotion in 1999 to tons of fanfare.

Jericho worked for WWE on and off until 2018, and during that time he became one of the most decorated Superstars in WWE history.

All told, Jericho is a six-time world champion, nine-time intercontinental champion, seven-time tag team champion and two-time United States champion in WWE.

Jericho is undoubtedly a WWE legend, but it is still surprising to see a wrestler from a rival company working with WWE in some capacity. Austin shed some light on how everything came together, however.

In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Austin explained that Jericho contacted him following his Broken Skull Sessions with The Undertaker to tell him how much he enjoyed it.

Jericho expressed interest in doing the show, and Austin reached out to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon via text to ask permission. Austin said Vince replied, "It's cool. Go ahead."

Barrasso added that Jericho received permission from AEW President Tony Khan to do the show as well, which makes sense considering it could help AEW get some additional exposure.

While Jericho has taken some shots at WWE since signing with AEW, he has long talked about his relationship and friendship with McMahon. Given how long they have known each other and worked together, there is likely plenty of respect on both sides.

McMahon giving the OK for Jericho to appear on a WWE show is a sign that the performer remains on good terms with the company, and it bodes well for him potentially working with WWE again in some capacity in the future, such as a WWE Hall of Fame induction.

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All Elite Wrestling star Chris Jericho donated $2,500 to the family of Mohammad Anwar, who was killed in an alleged carjacking in Washington, D.C.

According to CNN's Jay Croft, two teenaged girls were charged with felony murder and armed carjacking after allegedly using a Taser on Anwar in the midst of the carjacking that left him dead. A video showed the girls allegedly stealing Anwar's car and driving away while he held on. The car subsequently flipped onto its side, and Anwar died from the injuries he sustained in the crash.

Jericho said the situation was "something out of a horror movie" in an interview with TMZ Sports.

"Just the feeling of terror he must've had being stuck halfway out of the car as the thieves ... mere children ... hit the gas," he said.

Anwar's family set up a GoFundMe account that has raised more than $833,000 so far.

"Anwar was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend who always provided a smile when you needed one," his family said. "He leaves behind a family, near and far, who cherish, love, and miss him dearly."