AEW News Roundup: Andrade teases potential Forbidden Door match; wrestling veteran blasts Tony Khan's "huge announcement"; former NXT star names Bryan Danielson as dream opponent (22 April, 2022)
In this week's AEW News Roundup, we take a look at the immediate fallout from Tony Khan's huge announcement on Dynamite. The big news is All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling will be promoting a supershow this June in Chicago, Illinois at the United Center. One wrestling veteran, however, has criticized the way the AEW president handled the announcement.
Andrade El Idolo has teased a potential match at the upcoming Forbidden Door event with a former stablemate, while another AEW wrestler has named Bryan Danielson as his dream opponent. Catch up on all the latest All Elite Wrestling news here.
#5. Wrestling veteran blasts the AEW President for recent appearance on Dynamite
.@AEW & @njpwglobal Announce First-Ever Joint PPV Event, #AEWxNJPW: #FORBIDDENDOOR live from the @UnitedCenter in Chicago on Sunday, June 26! Tickets go on sale Friday, May 6 at 10am CT / 11am ET at AEWTIX.com & @Ticketmaster
Full release - allelitewrestling.com/post/aew-and-n… https://t.co/hIwRHCsmwI
News of the impending supershow by AEW and NJPW might have delighted wrestling fans, but wrestling veteran Vince Russo has criticized the segment for the way Tony Khan put himself front and center during the announcement on this week's Dynamite.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Bro Show, the former WWE head writer felt that Tony Khan came across as "egomaniacal" and craved the adulation of his audience:
"I have been around this business for a very long time. I have been around the biggest egomaniacs in the history of man. Bro, I don't think I have ever seen anyone in this business who needs their ego stroked more than Tony Khan. That's what this is all about. Tony Khan wants to go out in front of his niche audience and be like, 'Look, what I did for you guys! We're gonna have a pay-per-view with NJPW, don't you love me? Get up on your feet and cheer me!' He should be focussing on growing the audience, bro. NJPW is not going to create one new viewer for your show. This is all Tony getting his ego stroked," said Russo. [10:56 - 12:45]
Tony Khan has stated in the past that he does not want to involve himself in front of the camera in his programming and prefers to run things behind-the-scenes. On the rare occasion that he does appear on Dynamite, it's usually to make a big announcement like his recent purchase of Ring of Honor or during the memorial show for the late Brodie Lee.
It remains to be seen if the latest partnership between the two major wrestling promotions will do big business and grow their respective audiences going forward.
#4. Andrade hints at potential Forbidden Door match
🏼
The originals LOS INGOBERNABLES @AndradeElIdolo ( I was la Sombra )@AEW @s_d_naito @njpwglobal @rushtoroblanco @ringofhonor 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼 https://t.co/1dM9pBJtTW
AEW star Andrade El Idolo is the latest wrestler to give his reaction to the upcoming supershow. The former NXT champion posted a throwback picture on his Twitter account that seems to hint at his desire to be involved in the "Forbidden Door" event.
The aforementioned photo is of himself with former partner and Los Ingorbenables leader Tetsuya Naito. Before the faction became a household name in Japan, it had its origins in Mexican promotion CMLL.
Andrade, once known as La Sombra, wrestled for CMLL while also making appearances in New Japan. He helped form the original Los Ingorbenables stable, in which Tetsuya Naito would eventually join during his excursion to Mexico in 2015.
With the "Forbidden Door" on the horizon, could Andrade be hinting at a reunion with the former IWGP World Heavyweight champion? There is already history between the two men and an in-built storyline that could be revisited if they choose to have an inter-promotional match at the event.
#3. Former NXT Tag Team Champion names Bryan Danielson as his dream opponent in AEW
Rivals @boy_myth_legend & @korcombat leave their tag team partners to battle in singles action for the #OwenHart Men’s Tournament Qualifier TOMORROW on #AEWDynamite LIVE at 8/7c on @tbsnetwork! https://t.co/NOl6Qbrw5Q
Kyle O'Reilly has mainly appeared in tag team matches with Bobby Fish as reDragon ever since joining AEW. He finally wrestled in his first solo match on this week's Dynamite, defeating him to qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
On the latest episode of the Busted Open Radio podcast, O'Reilly revealed that his dream opponent in AEW is Bryan Danielson:
"A guy who I've wanted to wrestle my entire career is Bryan Danielson. I broke in '05 [started wrestling career], and he was at that time, having this epic run with ROH title, and he inspired me to want to make it to ROH, and he was going over to Japan and making a living there. So that inspired me to wanna follow that path."
O'Reilly further completed Danielson's hybrid style of wrestling, which incorporated technical wrestling with a hard-hitting strike game while pitching a potential match between his team and the Blackpool Combat Club down the road:
"And he always worked very similar sort of hybrid style, as he put it, which I totally agree with that definition of it because it's very much a hybrid style. It's whatever you want it to be, you know, kicks and strikes and submissions, but it's mixed with professional wrestling, which is a style of its own. So certainly with Danielson, and now he's teamed up with Mox. I think that'd be an amazing tag match as well. There's a ton of guys in AEW I would really love to wrestle, and I think it's a very deep roster. So there's no shortage of potential dream matches from where I'm standing."
O'Reilly vs. Danielson is a match we never got to see either in ROH or WWE. With both wrestlers at the top of their games right now, it promises to be an entertaining affair for wrestling viewers.
#2. Lance Storm praises CM Punk vs. Dustin Rhodes on this week's Dynamite
Nothing but Respect!🤝❤
#AEW #AEWDynamite
@dustinrhodes #CMPunk https://t.co/azEheUvwIF
Another dream match that took place in Dynamite this week was between former WWE Champion CM Punk and wrestling legend Goldust. The two solid in-ring workers might be from different generations, but they delivered an old-school bout that was filled with storytelling and psychology.
Wrestling veteran Lance Storm praised the match on Twitter and the performance put on by the two stars, stating:
"Loved @dustinrhodes vs. @CMPunk from last night. Wrestling can be both simple and beautiful. Thank you gentlemen."
As one of the best technical wrestlers of his era, Storm's words carry a lot of weight and echo the thoughts of wrestling fans who watched the match. After the bout, AEW World Champion Hangman Page appeared at the top of the ramp and came face-to-face with CM Punk. It appears the Straight Edge Superstar will finally get his shot at the world title next.
#1. AEW World Champion Hangman Page comments on comparisons with Stone Cold Steve Austin
Tomorrow’s guest on INSIGHT:
@theAdamPage
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podcast.chrisvanvliet.com https://t.co/ZvJpOGuFwT
Speaking of world champions, Hangman Page appeared on the latest episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast. Page shared his thoughts on the comparisons with WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Thanks to his beer-guzzling ways, the Cowboy feels reminiscent of The Texas Rattlesnake who made drinking on television famous. However, Page assured fans that he wants to carve out his own legacy in the business:
“I don’t know, that’s never my goal. I could understand how you’d see that but it was never my intention or my goal or anything like that. Stone Cold is awesome, I’ll take it as a compliment. People tell me stuff like that about this guy or that guy, I hope people don’t think that’s my intention like I want to be the next whatever. That’s not the case, remotely never has been.” (H/T - WrestlingInc)
It seems like the former Elite member is now on a collission course with another wrestler who has been compared to Stone Cold throughout his career, CM Punk. It could lead to a highly-anticipated world title main event at the next AEW pay-per-view or Double or Nothing in May.