Tony Khan Admits Bryan Danielson May Be “Retired For Good”; April 24th Wrestling News Round-Up

Following last night’s edition of AEW Dynamite, this week’s AEW Collision Playoff Palooza was taped in New Orleans ahead of the show’s airing on April 26th. Full spoilers are ahead courtesy of F4WOnline, you have been warned!

• Swerve Strickland defeated Blake Christian
• Toni Storm defeated Queen Aminata in an AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator
• Hologram defeated Max Caster in a Best Wrestler Alive Open Challenge
• Anna Jay defeated Taylor Gainey
• The Cru defeated Top Flight in a Tornado Tag Team match
• Bandido (c) defeated Dralistico to retain the ROH World Championship
• Rush defeated AR Fox
• FTR defeated Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has responded to criticism of his explanation for failing to appear at WWE WrestleMania 41.

The Great One appeared on The Pat McAfee Show earlier this week and gave a controversial explanation as to why he missed The Shows of Shows this year.

Fans and wrestling personalities alike were not too thrilled about Rock’s comments. Most notably, Busted Open Radio host Dave LaGreca went on an extended rant about Johnson’s comments, attracting the attention of The Final Boss himself on Instagram.

Hi Dave, the business is a complete work. Always has been, always will be. Every aspect of it. Every match. Every interview.

Please join me, Cody, Cena, Brian and the rest of us for our creative discussions so you can expand your perspective. Until then, stop ranting, it’s not healthy my friend. Enjoy the show.

Ps, tell Bubba I have Grand Marnier and hush puppies for all of us.

Tonight’s TNA iMPACT will emanate from the St. Joseph Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Missouri. The next TNA special is Rebellion this weekend!

Matches and segments announced for the show include:

• Mike Santana speaks
• The Nemeths visit The Hardy Compound
• Moose & JDC vs Trey Miguel & Ace Austin
• Rosemary vs Jacy Jayne
• Tessa Blanchard vs ???
• Joe Hendry & Elijah vs Ethan Page & Frankie Kazarian

What are you most excited to see on tonight’s TNA iMPACT? Let us know your thoughts here!

This week’s AEW Dynamite emanated from the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisana.  The next AEW special is Double or Nothing in four weeks!

The full results from Dynamite were as follows:

• Mark Briscoe defeated Ricochet
• The Young Bucks defeated Speedball Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight
• The Don Callis Family defeated Will Ospreay & Brody King
• Jamie Hayter defeated Kris Statlander to advance to the Final of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup

What was your favourite moment of last night’s show? Let us know your thoughts here!

The finals of this year’s AEW Women’s Owen Hart Cup are officially set!

As determined on last night’s edition of AEW Dynamite, Jamie Hayter and Mercedes Mone will face off for the first time ever in the final of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup at Double Or Nothing.

Hayter secured her spot in the final by defeating Kris Statlander in the main event of Dynamite. Mone, meanwhile, advanced to the final last week by defeating ROH Women’s World Champion Athena in the semi-finals.

Mone vs Hayter is the first match to be officially announced for Double Or Nothing. The Men’s Owen Hart Cup final will also take place at the pay-per-view, though finalist Will Ospreay’s opponent has yet to be determined.

Ric Flair and Arn Anderson have led tributes from across the wrestling world to the late Steve McMichael.

Following a 4-year battle with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), WCW and NFL legend Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 67.

News of McMichael’s passing led to tributes pouring out from across the American Football and Professional Wrestling worlds, both of which he found great success in.

Among those paying tribute were McMichael’s Four Horsemen allies Ric Flair and Arn Anderson as well as Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and AEW itself.

Everyone here at Inside The Ropes sends our condolences to the friends and family of Steve McMichael.

The World Just Lost The Incredible Steve “Mongo” McMichael! He Was My Best Friend Through It All! An Amazing Athlete And Human Being! I Have The Fondest Memories Working With Him, And This Is An Extremely Heartbreaking Loss For Me! I Love You Mongo! You Fought One Hell Of A… pic.twitter.com/yq2YHfWKmf

— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) April 23, 2025

Tony Khan has admitted there’s a possibility Bryan Danielson may never return to the ring.

Speaking on the Way of the Blade podcast recently, the AEW President was asked about Bryan Danielson’s status and future with the company following his full-time retirement from in-ring competition last year.

Khan revealed that Danielson continues to work behind the scenes for the company, though didn’t clarify his exact role, but admitted that there’s a chance The American Dragon will never compete inside the ring again.

“I still work with Bryan Danielson. He’s still a big part of my office. He’s not on the show, and he’s been injured and maybe retired for good, but he’s never said he’s done for good, and I hope that there’s some possibility he will be able to return to wrestling from the injuries and the way he left, but he’s still a part of AEW, so I’m still very fortunate to work with Bryan.

I talk to Bryan almost every day. He’s got a great mind for wrestling, and he’s somebody that I’m really pleased and blessed came into AEW and got involved with us. He’s a great person in and out of the ring, and he’s a great leader in AEW.”

h/t to WrestlingNews.co

Welcome back to the ITRWrestling live blog! I’ll be with you from 12pm to 6pm BST (8am – 2pm ET) covering all the biggest stories from WWE, AEW, NJPW, TNA, and more.

Today’s top stories are:

• Tony Khan Admits Bryan Danielson May Be “Retired For Good”
• Ric Flair, Arn Anderson & More Pay Tribute To The Late Steve McMichael
• 2025 Women’s Owen Cup Finals Set For AEW Double Or Nothing