A former AEW champion recently missed a close encounter with the Los Angeles wildfire.
Los Angeles is burning. With already severe damage done to the city, firefighters are doing their best to keep everyone safe. With over 6500 buildings possibly destroyed by the Eaton fires, it is the two biggest fires that ignited this week in Los Angeles. With several parts of the city damaged, and multiple buildings destroyed, a former AEW champion recently almost fell victim to it.
While the fire is engulfing the Western Coast of the USA, the Eastern Coast is freezing. Collision 01/11 is set to take place live in the Akins Ford Arena in Athens, Georgia. However, severe weather conditions in Georgia have brought forward a lot of limitations for the show. Although, the Collision episode has been promised to take place by Tony Khan, former tag-team champion Anthony Bowens was compelled to cancel his appearance.
Sharing his statement on X(Twitter), Bowens claimed he and his partner Michael had to evacuate their house after reports emerged of the Palisades fire approaching their house.
Hey everyone, I unfortunately won’t be making it to Collision today. The #PalisadesFire started moving towards my home last night and as a precaution Michael and I had to pack up and leave the area. We are safe and so is the neighborhood as of now. Hopefully it stays that way. Shout out to the LAFD for working so hard to try and slow the spread of this fire down.”
Now reported free from danger, Bowens claimed that their neighborhood is now safe, and he hopes it stays that way. He further praised the Los Angeles Fire Department for their work.
Bowens’ absence has now added to the already ongoing Collision travel challenges.
We at Inside The Ropes hope everyone stays safe, and the situation improves rapidly in Los Angeles,
Kenny Omega’s Dynamite Return Increases AEW Viewership
In the final moments of the January 8th Dynamite edition, Kenny Omega made his highly anticipated return. Shortly after his Wrestle Dynasty comeback match against Gabe Kidd, ‘The Cleaner’ rejoined AEW.
Kenny Omega’s return also brought a major positive change in the promotion’s viewership. According to Wrestlenomics, Dynamite 01/08 drew 615,000 viewers on TBS, which is significantly higher than last week’s 588,000. Wednesday’s episode scored a 0.17 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic, up from the 0.16 rating from 1st January 2025.
In other news: A released WWE superstar has opened up on his recent domestic violence allegations.