00:00 AEW stars are reportedly frustrated backstage, the real reason a match was cancelled, Cody
00:06 Rhodes vs. The Rock update and more.
00:09 I'm Luke Owen, Pinch Punch First of the Month, this is the WrestleTalk News.
00:19 I think it's fair to say that AEW has had a turbulent few years since 2022.
00:25 That year started with the conclusion to, arguably, one of AEW's greatest storylines
00:30 of all time with CM Punk vs. MJF.
00:34 But just a few months later, one half of that match got into an actual real life fight with
00:38 the people in charge.
00:40 Multiple people got suspended, all of them came back, and that same person got into another
00:45 real life fight backstage and was fired for it.
00:48 The general consensus from fans that a lot of this meant that AEW lost some of its magic,
00:53 it didn't feel like the hot start-up it was back in 2019.
00:58 But 2024 has felt different.
00:59 The consistent thing I see online about All Elite Wrestling is "we're back" or "the
01:04 feeling is back".
01:06 Whatever that feeling is, fans have been enjoying the product more.
01:09 And that excitement for AEW continues to grow with the arrival of Will Ospreay and the rumoured
01:14 debuts of Mercedes Monet and Kazuchika Okada more on him in a bit.
01:19 Even The Young Bucks themselves did an interview recently saying they're having fun again
01:24 and hadn't been having fun in AEW for a while despite re-signing with the company
01:29 last summer.
01:30 But perhaps they're alone in having fun.
01:33 At least according to Bryan Alvarez.
01:35 Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, Alvarez and Mike Simpavivi were discussing WWE's
01:40 rather smart tactic of booking names like Cody Rhodes for shows that he's not typically
01:45 booked for like Smackdown, because even if he doesn't work an angle on that show, he
01:50 can wrestle the dark match after the show has finished.
01:53 That way, WWE can sell tickets to people on the promise they'll see Cody Rhodes live
01:58 even if he's not part of the program the rest of us see on TV.
02:02 We'll also have more on that in a little bit.
02:05 AEW doesn't currently do this, though Alvarez claims that many have suggested it to Tony
02:10 Khan, and says that a lot of wrestlers show up for Dynamite shows on Wednesday with no
02:15 idea on whether they'll actually be used on the show.
02:18 He said, "I don't want to compare this to WWE back in the day, but it is very much like
02:23 that, and a lot of people are very frustrated.
02:26 They don't find out what they're doing the Tuesday before Dynamite.
02:30 Some people do because some matches are announced sometimes, but most people show up the day
02:33 of the show and find out if they're doing anything or not.
02:37 There's very little communication.
02:39 I've been hearing about this for months.
02:41 People are very frustrated."
02:43 He then added, "The days of long-term booking are gone."
02:47 There appears to be two avenues of frustration according to Alvarez.
02:52 One of those is that one that's in the quote, where talent are showing up not knowing what
02:56 they're going to do and then find out the answer is, "not a lot".
02:59 But the other avenue is that some talent show up and don't like the creative that they're
03:04 given and get it changed to something they do want to do.
03:08 And again according to Alvarez, Tony Khan doesn't make them do it the way he wants
03:13 it to be done.
03:15 Both Alvarez and Dave Meltzer have previously talked about the likes of Andrade, El Idolo,
03:19 Miro and Malakai Black not wanting to do creative pitches given to them, going as far as to
03:24 say that the reason Malakai Black wasn't in the Continental Classic is because he didn't
03:29 want to lose any matches.
03:31 However it should be noted that they're still the only people saying this.
03:36 While all other reports since the start of 2024 have been that the backstage morale in
03:40 AEW has been much more improved.
03:43 But do these reported issues tie into the reason why a PPV match was cancelled?
03:48 But before we get into that, it is Revolution this weekend where that match was supposed
03:52 to take place, and you can get your predictions for the show in right now over at WrestleLeague
03:57 where there's a whole lot of fun and prizes to be won.
04:00 Here's how to sign up.
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04:22 you don't miss a show.
04:25 Last week AEW announced Meet Madness which would have seen Wardlow take on Powerhouse
04:30 Hobbs and Lance Archer with more names to be announced.
04:34 However just before this week's Dynamite, TK announced that match had been cancelled
04:38 due to injuries, and instead replaced it with an All-Star Scramble match with the winner
04:43 getting a world title shot.
04:44 That match still includes Wardlow, Hobbs and Archer though, leading to a lot of people
04:49 wondering what happened here?
04:51 Well TK revealed himself on the AEW Revolution Media Call that the plan was to include Keith
04:57 Lee and Miro into the match - which would have been Lee's first appearance since he
05:01 was pulled at the last minute from World's End, and Miro's first appearance since he
05:05 beat Andrade El Idolo at that same show.
05:08 However he notes both of them are currently injured, which is why he's put the match
05:12 on ice for the moment - saying that he will do it another time.
05:16 Dave Meltzer is reporting that Lee is currently suffering from bad knees which has kept him
05:20 out of the match, and Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select writes that Miro hasn't been at AEW
05:25 shows of late.
05:26 Interestingly and perhaps quite hilariously, one of the qualifying matches for this All-Star
05:31 Scramble - Matt Sydal vs. Magnus - was actually taped last week where there were no stakes
05:37 attached to it.
05:38 The other qualifier between Brian Keith, Pentakill Jr and Dante Martin was taped after this week's
05:43 Dynamite.
05:44 Also on that media call, TK said next week's Dynamite would feature "a big bit of news"
05:49 and now we know what that might be.
05:51 Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select reports that AEW are tentatively planning for Kazuchika
05:56 Okada to be in the fold by next week's show.
06:00 If that is the case, AEW would have three huge debuts in as many weeks, with Ospreay
06:06 making his official debut this week, Okada next week on the 6th and Mercedes Monet the
06:12 week after that on the 13th.
06:14 Speaking of Will Ospreay and Sean Ross Sapp also report that those we had spoken to don't
06:18 expect Will Ospreay to remain aligned with Don Calis on AEW TV for long.
06:23 But while there are plenty of debuts to come, QT Marshall returned to the company just a
06:28 couple of months after originally leaving it.
06:30 Marshall left AEW as he felt the promotion was moving too much into a sport-orientated
06:35 direction and he wanted to be a main event wrestler and not just a producer.
06:40 There was plenty of speculation online that he could be heading to WWE to be with his
06:44 friend Cody Roach, and in an interview with Sportskeeda, QT confirms that he did have
06:49 talks with WWE about joining them and revealed the reason why he decided to go back to AEW.
06:56 He said, "I'm not going to go to WWE just to be a producer.
07:01 I can do that at AEW where I can work one day a week and I'm number whatever in the
07:06 company in the top ten.
07:07 Whereas if I go to WWE, I start at the bottom and make less money and I'm on the road more."
07:14 He said that, "Really, the only perk is that I get to be with my friend Cody and that
07:18 while working for WWE would be a dream job, it's not my dream to be a producer for WWE."
07:25 And according to Roderick Strong, QT Marshall might not be the only return we see soon.
07:31 One of the AEW has lost its feeling arguments has been around the litany of injuries.
07:36 Both MJF and Adam Cole, who were both supposed to be in the hot story coming out at the end
07:40 of last year, are on the injured list along with the likes of Kenny Omega, Wheelie Yuta,
07:45 Julia Hart and as we discussed earlier, Keith Lee and Miro.
07:49 And one name that has been missing for a while is Kyle O'Reilly, who hasn't wrestled for
07:54 AEW since July of 2022.
07:58 There's been lots of speculation on when O'Reilly could be back, and Roderick Strong
08:02 has told WrestleZone, "I think he'll be back sooner than later.
08:06 I mean, hopefully before the summer."
08:09 Moving away from AEW now and Cody Rhodes has announced his frankly insane upcoming schedule
08:15 ahead of WrestleMania 40.
08:17 On top of doing his usual Raw and House show appearances, Rhodes has also revealed that
08:21 he'll be doing three episodes of Smackdown - the first one being tonight, the March 8th
08:26 episode in Dallas and the March 15th show in Memphis.
08:29 While that makes sense given that he's going to be facing Smackdown's Roman Reigns at
08:32 WrestleMania 40, it should also be noted that these three episodes of Smackdown coincide
08:38 with the same episodes of Smackdown The Rock has announced himself for.
08:43 But before we all get too excited, it should also be noted that Rhodes is often booked
08:48 for Smackdown shows as a way to sell extra tickets, and while he doesn't feature on
08:53 the TV show, he wrestles in the dark matches after the tapings.
08:56 Though given how he is now the Bloodline Hunter, you would think he'd be on the same show
09:00 that The Rock and Roman Reigns are on.
09:02 And finally to brighten your mood on a Friday, Dark Side of the Ring have shared a clip on
09:06 Twitter of an interview they conducted with Haku, known as one of the scariest dudes in
09:13 pro wrestling, where he sees the infamous Shockmaster debut for the first time.
09:20 Bearing in mind the myths around Haku, including one where he once bit the nose off a dude
09:25 for saying wrestling is fake, this is just wonderfully joyous.
09:31 "What do you think of what you just saw?
09:38 Crazy right?"
09:41 "Yeah!
09:43 Oh my goodness.
09:47 It looked like he hit that thing and come down.
09:53 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
09:57 Swimming, he was looking for the gimmick.
10:00 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
10:03 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
10:06 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
10:09 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
10:12 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
10:15 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
10:18 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
10:21 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
10:24 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
10:27 He was looking for the gimmick of the towel.
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