AEW reportedly planning to bring back massive free agent for All In
Kota Ibushi made his AEW debut at Blood & Guts last week as the Golden Elite defeated the Blackpool Combat Club in a hard-hitting match. Ibushi has not been seen since, and fans are wondering what the status of the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion is.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio shed some light on Ibushi’s status and had some good news. According to him, Ibushi could be next seen in an AEW ring at All In, which takes place on August 27 in London. Meltzer stated that “he is going to the Wembley show.”
After the Blood and Guts match, Kenny Omega took the microphone and spoke about Kota Ibushi, saying:
"But one thing I do respect is that I will see Ibushi again here in an AEW ring and as long as I am an active performer in professional wrestling, I'm gonna go wherever these guys (The Young Bucks) go." [3:15 - 3:36]
It will be interesting to see who Ibushi will target if he indeed comes back at All In at Wembley Stadium. The show has sold more than 75,000 tickets so far and is on course to overtake WWE for the most tickets ever sold for a live wrestling event.
AEW Collision sees a spike in ratings
For a few weeks, there has been a lot of chatter on how AEW's ratings were down in the dumps. A lot of fans were worried, and some even gave up, saying that a show on the weekends won't work. But Tony Khan has cooked up something that has seen a spike in ratings.
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, the latest episode of Collision drew 618,000 viewers and had over 237,000 viewers from the age group of 18-49.
"AEW Collision drew 618,000 viewers, and won its time slot. 237,000 in 18-49, 298k in 25-54"
AEW Collision drew 618,000 viewers, and won its time slot.
237,000 in 18-49, 298k in 25-54
The rise in ratings could be because Tony Khan cooked up a great show on Saturday and involved some big names, as CM Punk and Darby Allin teamed up to take on Christian Cage and Ricky Starks. Taya Valkyrie called out Britt Baker and challenged her to a match as well.
However, the talking point over the weekend was Billy Gunn seemingly hanging up his boots. Gunn, along with The Acclaimed, lost their match to the House of Black. After the match, Black whispered something into Gunn’s ear, which prompted the former DX member to remove his boots and walk backstage with a distraught look on his face.
Having compelling storylines like this, especially with All In coming up in August, will bode well for Tony Khan's promotion and will also keep fans engaged.