AEW News Roundup: Rhea Ripley gets engaged; WWE Hall of Famer unlikely to return again
Welcome to another edition of AEW News Roundup, where we bring you the hottest news from All Elite.
In our first story, we will look at Rhea Ripley announcing her engagement with a top AEW star. She is involved in an on-screen romantic angle with Dominik Mysterio and broke the news via her Instagram. For the second news of the day, we will focus on how a former WWE manager said firing Sting would not be a loss for AEW.
The third and final story will revolve around WWE Hall of Famer Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat, who appeared as a guest referee on AEW Collision last week.
All that and more on today’s news roundup.
#3. Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews announce engagement
WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley put aside her on-screen persona and took to Instagram to announce her engagement to AEW star Buddy Matthews fka Buddy Murphy in WWE.
Ripley, involved in a romantic angle with NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio, took to Instagram to announce the news by posting a picture of her kissing her fiancé with the caption, “1000x YES! Pure F**king happiness! ❤️”
Everyone at Sportskeeda would like to congratulate the pair on their engagement.
#2. Firing Sting won't be a problem, according to Dutch Mantell
Sting made his return on AEW Dynamite and assisted Darby Allin in fending off the Mogul Embassy. It was later announced that the pair would take on Swerve Strickland and AR Fox in a coffin match at All In London.
Many fans were excited at the return of Sting, but former WWE manager Dutch Mantell was not impressed and said that the WCW icon was dispensable and that he did not bring anything to the table.
Speaking on his podcast, Storytime with Dutch Mantell, he said:
"Even Sting [isn't] indispensable. If you didn't see Sting forever, from here on out, nobody would miss Sting. I think seeing him is kind of a disappointment. He doesn't do anything. He misses his tables." [08:38 onward]
With Sting's career seemingly in its last stretch, would it be wise for Tony Khan to follow Mantell's advice? Only time will tell.
#3. Ricky Steamboat done with AEW?
Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat appeared on Collision last week, where he served as the special guest referee for the match between CM Punk and Ricky Starks for the ‘Real’ world title.
After the match, Starks flipped and gave a brutal beatdown to the WWE legend. While his appearance served its purpose, Jim Cornette was unsure if Tony Khan would bring him back in the future.
Cornette said:
"Well, I don't know to be honest, because I mean it served a purpose in that [CM Punk] gets a win back over [Ricky Starks] but settles nothing, and it didn't diminish Starks. They were in the Carolinas. Steamboat works there for the live audience. I don't know if you want to bring him back and program him." [12:00 onwards]
Ricky Steamboat has no incentive to return, given that he has already achieved so much in his career. It also remains to be seen how the story will play out this week on AEW Collision.