At the risk of angering the hordes of All Elite Wrestling fans out there, let's speak honestly for a moment—Thursday's episode of Dynamite was among the most disjointed episodes in recent memory...
Professional wrestling is the ultimate "what have you done for me lately" business. Unlike other sports, where perception, prestige and rankings are tied to a cumulative win-loss record, wrestling remains delightfully untethered from any such reality...
Online fans were restless as 6 p.m. ET came and went and AEW Dynamite, already bumped from Wednesday to Saturday, was further delayed by the NBA playoffs...
WWE ThunderDome; Jericho Rips WWE for Firing Chioda; WWE 2K Battlegrounds Roster
Aug 17, 2020
Nyla Rose, from left, Chris Jericho, Brandi Rhodes, Jon Moxley, Awesome Kong and Jungle Boy attend New York Comic Con to promote TNT's
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.
WWE Announces ThunderDome for Amway Center
WWE is leaving the Performance Center. The company announced the creation of the WWE ThunderDome on Monday, which will allow fans to virtually attend events live from Orlando's Amway Center.
"WWE has a long history of producing the greatest live spectacles in sports and entertainment, yet nothing compares to what we are creating with WWE ThunderDome," said Kevin Dunn, WWE executive vice president of television production. "This structure will enable us to deliver an immersive atmosphere and generate more excitement amongst the millions of fans watching our programming around the world."
The residency in Orlando will begin Friday and stretch for the foreseeable future. NXT will remain at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, while Raw and SmackDown will be held at the Amway.
First of all, calling it the ThunderDome is just genuinely hilarious. Having it being a reference to a movie that came out in 1985 is quintessential Vince McMahon.
Second of all, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. The WWE release does not say whether events will be aired live or if they will be held live to tape. WWE has been filming events ahead of time throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but doing so on a closed set has allowed them to avoid spoilers.
If WWE chooses to continue doing weeks of taping at a time, odds are storylines are going to be leaked well in advance.
Jericho Rips WWE for Firing Mike Chioda
Referee Mike Chioda made a surprise appearance on AEW Dynamite last week, reffing Cody's match against Scorpio Sky and Chris Jericho's loss to Orange Cassidy. Chioda was a referee in WWE from 1989 until his release in April and was one of several longtime employees let go due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I mean, come on, seriously? 35 years the dude has been at your company and you're going to fire him? Besides the fact that the dude is a great guy and such a talented performer, and can run the whole backstage, but after 35 years, what's he supposed to do?" Go get a job at freaking 7 Eleven? Like, shame on you WWE. They did it to Mark Eaton, a famous ringside guy that they still haven't been able to replace him yet. When I was looking for time cues, Mark was always the guy."
Jericho said he and Cody have tried to get Chioda in at All Elite Wrestling, but the company isn't adding referees during the pandemic.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds Roster Revealed
IGN got a first look at the roster for WWE 2K Battlegrounds, which launches Sept. 18 on current-gen platforms.
Traditional sports are judged by wins and losses. That means records carry with them the weight of truth, the ultimate arbiter of success. Professional wrestling is a little different...
Chris Jericho Says The Rock Didn't Wrestle Shawn Michaels After HBK's Insult
Aug 16, 2020
FILE - In this June 24, 2015, file photo, Chris Jericho arrives at the NBCUniversal New York Summer Press Day event at The Four Seasons Hotel in New York. Backed by billionaire Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan and his son Tony, new promotion All Elite Wrestling is set to make its debut on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, on TNT. The company wants to give WWE a run for its money and has already signed big stars Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes to make an instant splash. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
All Elite Wrestling star Chris Jericho corroborated claims of backstage strife between The Rock and Shawn Michaels during their time together in WWE.
Bret Hart said on his podcast that Triple H and Michaels made life difficult for The Rock behind the scenes and that they were "out to get him" (h/t Wrestling Inc.'sWilliam Windsor).
Jericho addressed the story on his Saturday Night Special show. He said that The Rock had been upset by something Michaels had done when he was younger, and subsequently carried on the animosity in years to come (h/t Ringside News' Darshan Sheth):
"As far as I know, it's true, from what The Rock told me. It's the reason why The Rock and Shawn Michaels never worked a match. I think Shawn might have insulted The Rock when he was a kid in Hawaii or something, The Rock’s got a long memory. But yeah, even when Shawn came back, I believe there was one match where it was Triple H vs The Rock in Louisville, Kentucky. Shawn was the special guest ref and they were angling to try and do a storyline feud between Rock and Shawn and I don’t think The Rock wanted to do it."
That wasn't the only reason The Rock and The Heartbreak Kid didn't have a prominent singles encounter.
When The Rock made his televised debut at Survivor Series, Michaels was one of the WWF's biggest stars. Once The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment assumed that status, HBK was retired. A back injury forced him to step away from the ring at WrestleMania XIV in March 1998.
By the time Michaels returned at SummerSlam 2002, The Rock was effectively on his way out of wrestling, so their paths didn't have much opportunity to cross.
For months AEW has set the standard for wrestling in the time of COVID-19. They tested the talent, talked about wearing masks and social distancing and brilliantly used their own wrestlers to simulate an enthusiastic crowd...
This week's episode of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite was dubbed "Tag Team Appreciation Night." For some reason, this did not include advertising the women's tag team tournament or having any of its matches happen on the show...
Chris Jericho Talks Mike Tyson; WWE Rumors on Vince McMahon-Bayley, Lumis Injury
Aug 10, 2020
Nyla Rose, from left, Chris Jericho, Brandi Rhodes, Jon Moxley, Awesome Kong and Jungle Boy attend New York Comic Con to promote TNT's
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.
Jericho Not Giving Up on Tyson Match
In May, Mike Tyson showed up on Dynamite to seemingly set up a match for September's All Out pay-per-view. That plan has apparently been scrapped. Tyson hasn't been mentioned on AEW in months, Jericho is deep in a feud with Orange Cassidy that will likely culminate at All Out, and Iron Mike is training for his boxing return against Roy Jones Jr.
That said, Jericho still believes the fight will happen.
"That's the idea; we're not done yet," Jericho said on his Saturday Night Specialseries. "He had this fight with Roy Jones Jr. on September 12, which cut down any chances of a match with me on the 5th. Like I said, I get that it's a lot of money at stake, and that's fine. I'm not going anywhere. We have another PPV in November, and we'll see what happens. I'm ready to kick his ass at any point of time.
"I'm not scared of him. I'll tell you that right now. People think I'm crazy; it's because I am."
Tyson's fight has been pushed back to Nov. 28, so it's likely Jericho and AEW will be waiting even longer—if the match ever happens.
While the match would give AEW a pop in pay-per-view buys, the quality of Tyson-Jericho would probably be lacking. Tyson is a 54-year-old who has never wrestled in an organized pro wrestling match; it may be best for all involved to leave that storyline in the past.
Vince Praises Bayley's Heel Work
Bayley has been SmackDown women's champion for more than 300 days, so it's safe to say Vince McMahon likes the direction of her character.
Apparently that's one of the select few things he likes about the current WWE product.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported McMahon has been slashing the scripts for Raw and SmackDown of late, writing his own storylines and leaving writers scrambling.
In a recent writers' meeting, Bayley's recent heel work received praise from McMahon, who "talked forever about how much he loves Bayley and her new persona."
It turns out Dexter Lumis' impressive front flip out of the ring in his triple threat match with Finn Balor and Timothy Thatcher will cost him significant time.
Bryan Alvarez noted on F4Wonline.com the ankle injury WWE announced, which will keep him out of the North American championship ladder match at TakeOver XXX, is legitimate. It's unclear how long Lumis will be out of action, but it's a disappointing blow for a guy who was ascending to the top of the NXT card.
Our weekly professional wrestling power rankings will once again be a Monday morning staple as we prepare for WWE Raw by taking a look at the most impressive wrestlers from the previous week...
