AEW All In Smashes UK Ticket Sales; May 4th Live Wrestling News Round-Up

Here’s a look at everything that went down at the latest set of tapings for AEW.

• Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix) & El Hijo del Vikingo def Powerhouse Hobbs, QT Marshall & Aaron Solo
• Jade Cargill def Gia Scott
• Mark Briscoe def Preston Vance. After the match, Mark was joined in the ring by members of the Briscoe family and cut a promo for the live crowd talking about his late brother Jay.

The show will also feature the cinematic “Firm Deletion” involving Matt and Jeff Hardy, Hook, and Isiah Kassidy taking on Stokely Hathaway, Ethan Page, Lee Moriarty, and Big Bill.

Following the end of AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation, two dark matches were also held.

• Skye Blue def Adena Steele
• Best Friends (Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor) and Rocky Romero def Angelico, Serpentico, and Nick Comoroto.

At Night of Champions WWE is set to crown their inaugural WWE World Heavyweight Champion following the introduction of the belt last months.

Names such as Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins and Guther have begun circulating as favourites to win the championship in Saudi Arabia.

We want to know, who is your pick to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion?

Let us know using the ‘get involved’ function at the top of the page and we will share our favourites during tomorrows Inside the Ropes Live Blog!

Pat McAfee has announced that his wife Samantha has given birth to a baby girl.

On May 4th, McAfee took to social media to share news of the new arrival, writing that it was a day that he and his wife have been dreaming of.

McAfee and now-wife Samantha got engaged in February 2019 before marrying on August 1st the following year.

The couple opened up about their pregnancy and IVF journey in an emotional post on Instagram in November, describing the process as “physically demanding and emotionally challenging.”

You can check out the Tweet below ⬇️

Today’s a day that @MrsMcAfeeShow and I have been dreaming of.. I can’t wait to see where this foot gets to go beautiful girl. WE LOVE YOU.

Baby and Momma are both healthy.

Momma and I are floating with joy. This is amazing. Thanks for all of the good vibes.

🤟🏼🌈🌈👶🏼 pic.twitter.com/TpkCtHkeAM

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 4, 2023

NJPW is set to present NJPW Dominion 2023 on June 4th live from Osaka-jo Hall and ahead of the show four major championship matches have been announced.

SANADA will defend his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Yota Tsuji, David Finlay will defend his NEVER Openweight Championship against El Phantasmo, Zack Sabre Jr will defend his World Television Title against Jeff Cobb and Aussie Open will defend their IWGP Tag Team Championships against EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi and Bishamon.

You can view the full card below:

1. SANADA vs. Yota Tsuji
2. David Finlay vs. El Phantasmo
3. Aussie Open vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
4. Zack Sabre Jr vs. Jeff Cobb
5. Lance Archer vs. either Hiroshi Tanahashi or Will Ospreay

DDP spoke to Kenny McIntosh about Triple H’s run as the head of creative since last summer after taking over from Vince McMahon.

Check out this never before seen interview clip below ⬇️

At WrestleMania, Rey Mysterio made his entrance in a lowrider driven by Snoop Dogg to Los Guerreros theme music. The majority of fans enjoyed the moment which served as a tribute to Eddie Guerrero.

However, speaking in a new interview with Bill Apter for Sportskeeda, Chavo Guerrero said the tribute was “almost taking it too far.”

The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion claims Mysterio should have rejected the writers request to come out to the Los Guerrero’s theme, stating that the WWE Hall of Famer has more than enough sway in the company to make that change.

Guerrero had previously blasted Rey for overstepping the mark and accused the former WWE World Champion of ‘prostituting’ the Guerrero family name for his own gain.

You can read Chavo’s scathing comments, in full, here.

Do you agree with Chavo or do you think Mysterio was in the right to perform a tribute to his best friend at WrestleMania 39? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Jim Cornette is never one to shy away from controversy and sharing his thoughts on Adam Cole & Chris Jericho’s AEW feud has been no different.

Discussing the storyline on his podcast, The Jim Cornette Experience, the legendary manager said that AEW has made Cole look like a “small, tiny simpleton.” He added that working with the Jericho Appreciation Society is the “kiss of death” as no one gets over against Jericho.

You can read Cornette’s full brutal breakdown of the storyline, here.

Do you agree with Jim? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

On this day in 2014 WWE presented Extreme Rules from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in front of 15,907 fans.

The show featured one of WWE’s most bizarre finishes ever during John Cena and Bray Wyatt’s Steel Cage match.

As Cena prepared to escape a demonic child appeared singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”, distracting Cena and enabling Wyatt to pick up the win.

You can watch the full show over on the WWE Network or check out The Shield vs Evolution in full for free, down below ⬇️

Although reports that Big E could be returning to WWE during the 2023 draft appear to be untrue, there is positive news regarding his future.

Big E would take to Twitter showing a photo of himself back in the gym on the road to recovery from his near career ending neck injury sustained during 2022.

However, the story gets better as the former WWE Champion would bump into one of AEW’s biggest stars (literally) while working out, none other than ‘The Giant’ himself Paul Wight FKA The Big Show.

Big E would share an incredible photo of himself and Wight with the very simple caption “Weeeeeeelllllllllllll….”

Check out the post down below ⬇️

Weeeeeeelllllllllllll…. pic.twitter.com/EUzDKhfGZD

— Ettore “Big E” Ewen (@WWEBigE) May 3, 2023

AEW may be taking over Wembley Stadium in August, but it was WWE who took over Wembley in 2002, albeit Wembley Arena rather than stadium.

WWF Insurrextion would emanate from London’s Wembley Arena in front of 10,500 fans.

This was the last PPV held under the WWF name before re-branding as WWE. It was also following this show that the infamous ‘Plane Ride From Hell’ took place when the superstars were flying back to America, resulting in both Scott Hall and Curt Hennig being fired from the company.

You can watch the full PPV on the WWE network or you can check out The Hardy Boyz vs Shawn Stasiak and Brock Lesnar in full below ⬇️

Drew McIntyre’s rise to the top of WWE was far from straightforward.

After being anointed as the “chosen one” by Vince McMahon, the star failed to establish himself on the main roster before sliding down the card and eventually being released. It was only after a spell on the independent scene and re-joining WWE in 2017, that McIntyre finally fulfilled his potential with the company.

Speaking on his Wrestling With Freddie podcast, former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr recalled McIntyre being moved to the main roster and many within the company wanting the star to drop his Scottish accent, something Prinze Jr was dead set against noting that it was unfair of the WWE to make such an absurd request.

This is not the first time WWE has looked for talent to reduce the accents, AEW’s Rene Paquette revealed that she was sent to linguistic classes to help tone down her Canadian accent whilst working for the company.

You can read Prinze’s full comments, here.

One New Zealand families first experience with WWE has gone viral, amassing over 150,000 views on YouTube in just a matter of days.

‘Your New Zealand Family” is a family vlog channel with over 300,000 subscribers and follows a husband, wife and their two kids as go through life together as well reacting to a variety of sports, shows and events for the very first time.

In a recent video the family sat down to watch WWE for the first time and shared their incredible reaction to Mick Foley & The Undertaker’s iconic Hell in a Cell match.

Check out the full video down below ⬇️

Teddy Long spoke to Nick Hausman in his first ITR interview.

They talk about being backstage at the WWE Draft –  who was there, the morale, getting high with a Hall Of Famer and much more.

Check out this never before seen interview below ⬇️

Conor McGregor is known for his incredible UFC record and outlandish press conferences but one WWE star thinks he should be paying attention in promo class following a recent social media post.

Taking to Twitter, McGregor would share a voice memo to Paul Heyman, warning him to ‘watch his back’.

“You are barking up the wrong tree Paul Heyman, I’ve lost count of the amount of bodies I have seen take their last breath. Watch your back for life.”

WWE Superstar Dominik Dijak would respond to the Irishman’s promo – mocking him and stating that he should take a visit to WWE’s promo classes.

“Promo class is every Thursday at the @WWEPC bro.”

McGregor has been linked with a WWE cameo for many years now and rumours have only increased following the WWE and UFC’s merger under Endeavour ownership.

Do you think we will see Conor McGregor in the WWE? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Charlotte Flair hasn’t appeared on WWE television since being defeated by Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 39.

In the aftermath of the defeat, it was reported that Flair would be taking a break from WWE. While the reason for her absence is unclear, it is believed that the decision was taken by Flair herself.

Speaking to The Boardroom, Flair has now commented on her absence for the first time. The former Women’s Champion said that he had taken time off as there was something she “needed to take care of.”

Flair would also add that the extended break from the WWE has given her the ability to recharge physically and mentally, something she has found extremely beneficial.

You can read the full report, here.

WWE Hall of Famer Edge today took to Twitter to celebrate his 25th WWE anniversary!

Writing on Twitter, ‘The Rated R-Superstar’ would share a video of his WWE on-screen debut from 1998, coming in the form of a vignette hyping his debut.

Edge would comment:

“25 years ago today this kids’ face first hit @WWE screens. What a ride. Thanks for reminding me. I lose track of this stuff.”

Edge has been a mainstay in WWE for almost over three decades now and most recently took on Finn Balor at WrestleMania 39 in a brutal Hell in a Cell match.

What has been your favourite Edge memory? Let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page!

From the moment that AEW All In was announced back in April, a number of huge stars including Goldberg and Mercedes Mone were linked with appearances.

But now, WWE Hall of Famer, Eric Bischoff has revealed why he believes that would be the wrong thing for AEW to do.

Speaking on his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff would state:

“I would want my brand, my story, my talent to be the reason that this event is successful,” Bischoff said. “I wouldn’t want the perception, or in this case maybe the reality, of having to rely on somebody who’s not a part of my company to help sell this house.”

“I wouldn’t even want Punk on the card,” Bischoff added. “If I’m Tony Khan, I want to be successful, I want to have a huge event, I want it to be successful, I want it to be critically successful, I want fans to have loved it, and I want to have done it without someone like CM Punk.

Certainly without someone like a Bill Goldberg or a Mercedes [Mone]. Nothing against them, because in the case of Bill Goldberg, I like Bill a lot, he’s a good dude, and if he does end up there, it’ll probably help quite a bit.”

Do you agree with Eric’s comments? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Nick Khan has provided clarity regarding the potential impact of the Writes Guild of America’s strikes on the WWE.

During WWE’s quarterly results call, Khan would address the ongoing WGA strikes revealing that they will have zero impact on the WWE.

“Our writers are not members of the guild, so there is no effect on us whatsoever. Of course we are supportive of the writers who are members of the guild and their efforts, and we are hopeful a deal can be reached between them and the other side in short order.”

During the same call, Khan would comment on potential Endeavour/UFC interference with the day-to-day activity of the WWE, revealing that there is no chance of this happening.

“We’re all excited about everything that should and will happen together with UFC and the folks from Endeavor,” he said. “Keep in mind, we have known these folks for a long period of time, so they are not strangers to us. Their style is not strange to us. It’s something that we give a full embrace to, and I can certainly represent emphatically to you on the creative that that there is no one at Endeavor or the UFC that has any interest in trying to interfere with that in any way whatsoever.” [h/t Deadline]

Do you think WWE is going to change significantly under Endeavour ownership? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Zahar has written in, using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page, and asked what do we know about Miro’s status with AEW after almost 10 months away from the company.

The latest report we have on Miro comes from Fightful Select just last month and reported that Miro is fit and healthy and their simply hasn’t been any plans for him in AEW.

Additionally, the report would reveal that ‘The Redeemer’ has been spending time over in his home nation of Bulgaria recently alongside wife and former WWE Star CJ Perry [FKA Lana].

Fightful Select had also previously reported that AEW had pitched creative ideas to Miro during his absence but the two parties were unable to agree on a middle ground.

Miro’s AEW contract is not set to expire anytime soon with the former WWE Star signing a multi-year extension “a year or so ago.”

Tony Khan is a busy man with hours of wrestling to produce each week, hundreds of wrestlers to keep and millions of fans to satisfy.

It turns out that all that work left Tony Khan unable to respond to an email from Former WWE Star EC3…or so he claims.

During an interview with ‘The Wrestling Outlaws’, the former NXT Superstar would claim that he emailed Tony Khan shortly after the now infamous brawl between CM Punk and The Elite following AEW All Out 2022.

“I emailed Tony,” EC3 said. “Not at all with the intent to get a job, that’s how I led off the email. It was when all the initial Punk and Young Bucks and all that thing went off. Just cause I thought he might be a guy who lacked anybody that would just … he doesn’t have a close relationship with to tell him something. It was just an inspirational, leadership message, because in theory, I do believe we need as much competition as possible for the sanctity of the industry. So I sent a hopefully inspirational message on leadership and what it takes. I’ve never heard anything back.” [h/t WrestlingInc]

WWE has had a ‘no go’ policy on blood on TV since the shift to PG back in 2008.

Since then blood on Raw, SmackDown and NXT has been restricted with the most notable exception being when Brock Lesnar busted Randy Orton open ‘hard way’ during SummerSlam in 2016.

According to a new report from Bryan Alvarez during this morning’s NXT review, WWE talent are now banned from sharing photos on social media of any injuries sustained and in particular any injuries leading to talent bleeding in anyway shape or form.

During this weeks NXT not one but two segments resulted in WWE talent being busted open including Jacy Jayne being busted open hard way during her grudge match with Gigi Dolin.

What do you think of this latest WWE rule? Let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page!

In recent weeks, the WWE future of Drew McIntyre has grown increasingly uncertain.

McIntyre hasn’t appeared for WWE since competing in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 39 against Sheamus and Intercontinental Champion Gunther. However, in the lead-up to that match, his future was thrown into question by reports that his contract with WWE is due to expire in 2023.

This came alongside reports that McIntyre was extremely frustrated over both his WWE salary and his current creative direction – leading many fans to speculate that ‘The Scottish Warrior’ is on his way out of the WWE.

Now, in a new twist to the story, Drew McIntyre has been pulled from advertising material for WWE Money in the Bank and the former WWE Champion is not listed as a ‘featured Superstar’ for the event as he had been previously.

Given Drew McIntyre’s incredible population in the United Kingdom, it would be surprising if McIntyre did not feature on the show whilst remaining under a WWE contract.

You can read more about MyIntyre’s potential WWE exit, here.

Do you think ‘The Scottish Warrior’ is on his way out of the WWE? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

While WWE has grown into a sports entertainment juggernaut worth billions of dollars in 2023, things were very different in the mid-1990s.

By the mid-1990s the company was struggling and struggling badly. Vince McMahon was coming off the back of the steroid trial which almost landed him in prison, Hulk Hogan had left the company, but not before he testified in the case, and business was down.

In response, WWE knew it had to cut costs and cut costs quickly. The answer was the “Profit Improvement Plan” laid out by Linda McMcMahon, who was company President at the time. She went on to become CEO in 1997.

Posting on Facebook, former WWE photographer Tom Buchanan shared his memories of this period, as well as the plans laid out by McMahon.

The plans included banning water bottles and reducing over time as well as a handful of other bizarre plans.

You can see the full leaked image, here.

Shawn Spears made his AEW return at the start of April after almost seven months away from the company.

Now, just one month following his return, Spears has revealed that his career is winding down as it moves towards its final chapter.

During a new interview with WrestleZone, Spears was asked if he felt he should be featured more in AEW following his return – a question Spears was quick to dismiss.

“So whether or not I’m going to be highlighted coming back, I don’t think that’s going to be a thing. I think my role in AEW is pretty set. I, for lack of a better [phrase], I don’t care anymore. I want to go out and have banger matches, I wanna wrestle Jay White, I wanna wrestle FTR, I wanna wrestle Wardlow, I wanna wrestle Max, I wanna wrestle these guys because I’m winding down. My time is coming to an end. I wanna have banger matches before I’m done, get it out of my system and ride off into the sunset.” [h/t Fightful]

Would you like to see Shawn Spears featured more on AEW? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below.

Many fans were concerned when AEW announced that they would be running the iconic Wembley Stadium this August for their 2023 All In PPV.

Tony Khan, Chris Jericho and a plethora of AEW’s talent took to social media to counter criticisms of the decision, stating that fans should just wait and see how well AEW will do in the UK market.

Well, as of May 3^rd, Tony Khan and co, appears to have had the last laugh.

Tony Khan would take to social media to reveal that as of around 5pm on May 3^rd, ticket sales for AEW All In had officially surpassed 43,000 and generated over $5,000,000 in tickets sales – all before tickets even went on general sale.

“Thanks to our great fans, only 32 hours into the pre-sale for #AEWAllIn London, we’ve already sold over 43,000 tickets for over £4.5M ($5.7M), before general on-sale has even begun, with more great seats going onsale soon!”

The event looks set to be a massive success with ticket sales already surpassing some fans expectations, and the show already 2/3 of the way to matching WWE’s incredible 62,000 attendance for Clash at the Castle in Cardiff last year.

You can read more about AEW’s ticket sales for All In, here.

Have you got yourself a ticket to the biggest UK show of the year? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Good Afternoon!

Hope everyone’s week is going great so far, it’s almost the weekend – so if not, hold on, we can get through this week together!

We are going to be kicking off today’s live news blog with updates on; how the WGA strikes are impacting the WWE, the latest news on AEW’s UK ticket sales and the potential retirement of AEW Superstar Shawn Spears!

As always if you have any questions you would like us to try answer, let us know by hitting the ‘get involved’ button at the top of the page or by clicking here.