AEW News Roundup: Scrapped love triangle story with Dolph Ziggler and a popular star detailed, wrestling legend on how Paige could fit within All Elite Wrestling, ECW veteran slams Wardlow's booking
AEW has been relatively quiet since MJF's jaw-dropping "pipe-bomb" promo two weeks ago. However, with the build-up to the Forbidden Door pay-per-view and Jon Moxley looking at a second World Championship reign, things could explode very soon.
Regardless, quite a number of interesting things have happened in the world of All Elite Wrestling lately. Continue reading as we dive right into today's AEW News Roundup.
#5 Toni Storm was meant to be embroiled in a love triangle story with Dolph Ziggler, and Rick Boogs
During her appearance on Talk is Jericho, the former WWE Superstar detailed the scrapped story that never happened during her run.
“They put me in a debut match. That seemed to go well. It seemed like something was going to happen and nothing really did,” Storm said.
Toni Storm continued by noting how the story never went anywhere.
“There was bits and pieces here and there, like, ‘Oh, you’re in love with Rick Boogs and the love triangle with Dolph Ziggler,’ and that never really went anywhere. Just bits and pieces here and there." (H/T: Wrestling Inc.)
Soon after the AEW star's departure from WWE, Dolph Ziggler went on to have a brief reign with the NXT Championship.
#4 Bret Hart's 1993 victory at King of the Ring inspired AEW's Dax Harwood to become a wrestler
ROH World Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood recently shared a nostalgic tweet. Harwood noted that, like many fans, he watched in awe when Bret Hart defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to become the King of the Ring. He stated that this bout inspired him to become a wrestler.
"29 years ago, today, I decided to become a professional wrestler," Dax Harwood tweeted.
29 years ago, today, I decided to become a professional wrestler. twitter.com/90swwe/status/…
It's no secret that FTR reveres The Hitman, but now fans know the actual moment that David Michael Harwood became Dax.
#3 Bill Apter believes that Paige would be a great addition to AEW's women's roster
Paige recently announced that she'll be parting ways with WWE after 11 years with the promotion. While the fan-favorite will have to wait until the seventh of July before she can officially begin her next chapter, wrestling legend Bill Apter hopes she joins AEW.
In a recent exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Apter explained the reasoning as to why he wants to see the star in AEW.
"I want to make it clear what I said before, AEW has a great women's division but I don't see the fans invested in it as much as they should other than Dr. Britt Baker or one of the international stars or the emergence of Athena," Apter explained.
She still has just under a month before she can potentially strike a deal with Tony Khan to become All Elite. Unfortunately, Paige has still not been cleared to wrestle since her 2017 neck injury. At this stage, she'll likely have a backstage role if she joins any other wrestling promotion.
#2 Jay Lethal considered signing with AEW before ROH went under and released all their signed wrestlers
In a recent appearance on AEW Unrestricted, Jay Lethal opened up about joining All Elite Wrestling. The veteran noted that he was extremely loyal to ROH, which is why he stayed with the promotion for as long as he did.
“They [ROH] let everybody go. The odd part is, the year before they let everybody go, I was considering coming to AEW. I felt like the only reason that I hadn’t gone and jumped ship in the very beginning was that I was extremely loyal to Ring of Honor," Lethal said.
.@TheLethalJay has found the #ForbiddenDoor and lays and lays down the challenge to TNT Champion @sammyguevara for #AEWDynamite! #AEWFullGear https://t.co/21DEnOGbQh
Lethal went on to call his AEW debut a "perfect storm."
"But it was just the perfect storm of events, not having many shows, not drawing too well when we did have the shows, and paying everybody. They couldn’t take it anymore. The company closes and now I can finally explore that option that I was thinking about.” - (H/T: WrestlingNews.co)
Not all fans are happy with Jay Lethal's portrayal in All Elite Wrestling so far. However, with his new heel persona, he might now be able to change his perception among fans.
#1 Tommy Dreamer was disappointed with Wardlow's exclusion from the Casino Battle Royal
While speaking on the latest episode of Busted Open, ECW Legend Tommy Dreamer voiced his concerns surrounding Wardlow's recent booking.
"If you did not tell me why he wasn't in the battle royale, I wouldn't have cared. But if you really think about what he said, and I don't wanna say it was a negative towards him...," said Dreamer.
Dreamer then praised Wardlow's promo skills.
"He spoke on the microphone, he looks great, people were still into him," Dreamer continued. "It was different from how we've seen him. He's not this beast, which at times it's a bit of risk because especially in wrestling, we love repetition."
The War Dog seems to be up for a massive push as he made his intentions clear to capture the TNT Championship. Fans will simply have to see if Tony Khan has an interesting story in mind for the rising star.