Update on former WWE Personality’s AEW future following Collision debut - Reports
Former WWE personality Kevin Kelly has become a full-time member of the AEW broadcast team, acting as the play-by-play commentator for Collision on Saturday nights. But it seems that he will miss a number of shows in the near future.
Over the past few years, Kevin Kelly has been the English voice of New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he has worked alongside the likes of Steve Corino, Don Callis, and Rocky Romero.
It seems as if that Kelly still has a lot of work left to do with NJPW, as Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio noted that the former WWE personality would miss a series of AEW Collision shows this summer due to it clashing with the G1 Climax Tournament in Japan.
“He’s going to Japan from mid-July to mid-August, so he won’t be around then. And then he’s doing at least one more Japan show but I think that’s like a one-shot, so I don’t know if that’s gonna mean missing a show. But AEW and New Japan, they have good relations, so Tony (Khan)’s not gonna do something where he can’t go anymore. As far as long-term, I don’t know what the situation is, but Kevin Kelly is committed, from what I understand, to New Japan at least through the end of the year." (H/T WrestleTalk)
Glad the AEW fans that don’t watch NJPW got to meet Kevin Kelly this man is so good at what he does imo he’s best wrestling commentator currently. https://t.co/YQyE7dIo2x
Meltzer also noted that Kelly is signed to do one more major show for NJPW alongside his broadcast colleague Chris Charlton, but outside of providing remote commentary for the NJPW World and Super Junior Tag League tournaments in the Autumn, the G1 will be the only thing preventing Kevin from being on AEW Collision.
“And he’s gonna be calling the tag team tournament from home which means that he probably can go to all the AEW shows. So I think there’s probably just the G1 stuff where he’d be missing and maybe one other show, maybe even not one other show. Depending on if that show is a weekend show, which it probably is, so probably one other show, and whatever the big fall show would be in September/October, they’re gonna do a big one, Autumn Attack or whatever the show is gonna be. He is committed to going there for that.” (H/T WrestleTalk)
Kevin Kelly's broadcast colleague will also be missing upcoming episodes of AEW Collision
AEW president put together a star-studded broadcast team for the first episode of Collision, but it seems that the trio of Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, and Jim Ross won't be together for the immediate future.
Following the first episode of Collision, Jim Ross took to Twitter to announce that he was going to step away from TV for a little while to heal up. JR took a nasty fall the day of the show and sported a black eye, but powered through and called the main event alongside Kevin and Nigel.
I apologize for the way I sounded tonight.
Going to step away to heal.
Thanks for your support.
🤠
It's unclear as to when JR will be back on the road with AEW. But for the time being, it seems as if Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Chris Jericho will take care of Rampage on Fridays, while Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness will hold down the fort on Saturdays for Collision.
Where does JR rank among wrestling's greatest commentators? Let us know in the comments section down below!