After Cody Rhodes' crowning as the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania 40, when he returned backstage he was gifted a very sentimental gift. WWE President Nick Khan, WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Bruce Prichard handed Rhodes the exact Rolex that his late father Dusty pawned in order to send him to acting school.

Rhodes spoke about the moment in the post show press conference of night two. "I came to the back and Bruce Prichard, Triple H, and Nick Khan handed me this [shows watch]. It's the same watch my dad had that he pawned so he could go to acting school. The level of investment and responsibility the company just put in my hands, I hope I can pay it back, pay it forward, 100 times over."

WWE has released footage from the emotional moment, which sees a stunned Rhodes come to the realization that it's his father's exact watch. Rhodes embraces Triple H, thanking him and then shaking Prichard's hand. You can watch the emotional moment in the newly released clip below.

.@CodyRhodes received a sentimental gift moments after becoming Undisputed WWE Champion at #WrestleMania XL ?? pic.twitter.com/zFQ3yVNjRA

-- WWE (@WWE) April 15, 2024

Triple H also spoke of the moment in the press conference, noting the close relationship between Prichard and Dusty. "Bruce was very close with Dusty. I was very close with Dusty. It was Nick's idea. He had this amazing idea. I was just along for the ride. It was Nick's idea, I thought it was great. Bruce went and super sleuthed down this watch, which was the exact same watch that Dusty had to present to Cody. We just wanted to give him something that commemorated his dad being here when this happened because he was."

Rhodes finally "finished the story" at WrestleMania 40 against Roman Reigns, defeating him and winning the championship his father never got a chance to actually win. It ushered in a new era of WWE, something that has been stated many times over the past few weeks. He won the Royal Rumble PLE to earn the opportunity, the first consecutive win in over 20 years. He wasn't alone in the fight, though, as WWE pulled a Marvel portals moment, inviting John Cena, The Undertaker, Jey Uso and Seth Rollins to aid Rhodes while The Rock, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso attempted to help Reigns retain.

WWE 2K24 is finally here, which means players worldwide are jumping in to try out all the latest modes with their favorite Superstars. One of the most prominent modes in this year's release is MyFaction, the WWE 2K24 version of the popular Ultimate Team modes that every sports franchise has these days. While MyFaction isn't as beloved as other Ultimate Team modes, this year's version does include a special wrinkle with Persona cards. If you get these cards, you'll also unlock them for use in other modes, making MyFaction an important place in WWE 2K24. Fortunately, the developers often drop Locker Codes into the game that players can use to rack up free rewards in MyFaction. Below, you'll find an updated list of every Locker Code in WWE 2K24 and a breakdown of how to use them.

How to Use Locker Codes in WWE 2K24

If you've never redeemed a Locker Code, the good news is that it's relatively easy. From the MyFaction main menu, navigate to the "Live" tab and click on it. Once you're in the "Live" menu, flick to the bottom of the screen to select the "Locker Codes" tab. Then, just type in the Locker Code, and you'll redeem the reward.

As far as finding new Locker Codes, your best bet is to keep this page bookmarked. That said, 2K will often announce new codes on its social media or through in-game ads. It's also possible that the team might drop new codes during live WWE events. The NBA 2K team loves to do that with important NBA games, and we might see the WWE 2K team do that more this year, especially with the increased importance of the mode for all players.

All Available Locker Codes in WWE 2K24

As of April 15th, 2024, these are the Locker Codes currently in WWE 2K24:

• WRESTLEMANIAXL - Cody Rhodes Superstar Series 1 Gold MyFaction Card (Rating: 68), Bailey Superstars Series 1 Silver MyFaction Card (Rating: 64).
• YOURSTORY2K24 - Elite John Cena (Mattel) Emerald Persona Card and 7,500 VC - Expires April 1st
• HEADOFTHETABLE - 2x MyFaction packs (Legends Series) + Roman Reigns Free Agent Sapphire (79) card

There is also code in the WWE 2K24 backend hinting at an upcoming Hulk Hogan Persona card that's coming down the line. Make sure to keep your eyes locked in for new codes, and don't forget to input them before they expire. Once they're gone, you won't be able to claim the award unless 2K adds a new code for the reward. We will keep this list updated as more Locker Codes are added to the game.

WWE 2K24 is available now on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC platforms.

Since the airing of the Bray Wyatt documentary on Peacock, fans have been eagerly awaiting clues as to when Uncle Howdy will arrive. At the end of the documentary, a brief clip of Bo Dallas as Uncle Howdy is shown, and many inferred this being the return of the character. This very much seems to be the case as various clues have been littered throughout WWE programming much like Bray used to do with QR codes and glitches.

It began with a glitch on the Raw after WrestleMania and have only increased since. Most recently, the WWE X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked with a simple "Hello." repeated over and over. It was taken down rather quickly but the internet sleuths were able to grab a quick screenshot of the post. Then came last week's SmackDown where there were multiple glitches during the show. Once for the fans in attendance during commercial break and once during the women's match with the phrase "you forgot about us."

On tonight's episode of WWE Raw, yet another tease popped up on the screen, albeit for just a split second. This time, the QR code led fans to a jumbled up link on WWE.com. After deciphering in by juxtapositioning the photos on top of one another, it gave another link. When that was typed into the search bar a photo with a cryptic file name was yet another clue, "PATIENCE_ItsAlmostTime.jpg." The video alongside it played with many symbols and underneath those symbols were various phrases: "Time to wake up. Take my hand. Things will be better. Trust me." Within the source code on the website lied another message: "An open door is a welcome that makes a stranger into a friend."

So there was a QR code that appeared in the glitch during The New Day's entrance... I did a little detective work. It takes you to this website with a coded message. Put the 2 together, you get a new URL. The new link takes you to this video #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/hwIAT6HRUt

-- Alex Lajas ? (@queenoftheringg) April 16, 2024

Will Uncle Howdy Show Up Alone?

In the past few days fans have speculated that a former member of the Wyatt Family, Erick Rowan, may be on his way back to WWE. According to one of his independent bookings, Rowan had to cancel due to "contractual obligations," an excuse that many contracted WWE talent will give so as not to reveal they have signed a contract. With all of the teases being centered around multiple people, it seems plausible that Uncle Howdy won't be showing up to WWE programming alone. A return of the sole Wyatt Family member would tie into the story perfectly. Rowan hasn't appeared in a WWE ring since his release in 2020, but he was invited to the Bray celebration done by WWE when he tragically passed away last year.

What do you make of the teases thus far? Are you excited for the return of Uncle Howdy? Let us know in the comments!

On WWE Raw, WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Raw General Manager Adam Pearce really put an emphasis on a new "era" of WWE. Part of that new era, is ushering in two sets of new Tag Team Championships. They welcome out Awesome Truth who won the Raw Tag Team Titles during the Six-Pack Ladder Match at WrestleMania 40.

Triple H congratulates the tag team on their win and to see R-Truth get his WrestleMania moment was "awesome," to quote The Miz. The Raw Tag Team Championships are being rebranded as the World Tag Team Championships. As for the new belts, they are gold with the WWE logo in the middle and "World Tag Team Champions" scribbled across a red ribbon. Miz explains it's their time to help elevate the division in the Triple H era. R-Truth questions where Triple H is, referring to him instead as Tommaso Ciampa. After speaking to Truth in French, it finally gets across to him that they have gotten new titles.

Are we loving these new #WWE World Tag Team titles?! #WWERaw @RonKillings pic.twitter.com/1n3ZX6AO5M

-- USA Network (@USANetwork) April 16, 2024

During the Six-Pack Ladder Match, the Judgment Day was forced to defend the titles against five other teams. Due to the chaotic nature of the match it led to some teams getting an early advantage, one of those being A-Town Down Under -- Austin Theory and Grayson Waller. Theory and Waller claimed the SmackDown titles. But they weren't out of the woods yet, as they could still claim the Raw titles and become Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. Instead, it allowed an opportunity to split the titles again and have two sets defended on both brands. Awesome Truth would obviously win the Raw titles. Following the reveal, a match took place to determine the first #1 contenders for the titles. D.I.Y., who have aligned themselves with Awesome Truth in recent weeks, came out on top over New Day and The Creed Brothers.

WWE is set to host yet another Draft in the coming weeks, so a split of the tag team championships makes the most sense. It will allow for more depth in the tag team division and fresh matchups. There's also some teams in NXT, like Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker, who very well could team up on the main roster and go after the championships. Corbin and Breakker recently lost the NXT Tag Team Championships to Axiom and Nathan Frazer on NXT. Breakker is currently signed to the SmackDown brand.

The WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley opened WWE Raw in a sling after speculation that she may have injured herself on WWE Raw last week.

Reports surfaced earlier this afternoon indicating that Ripley is in fact injured. They noted that it may be severe enough that she would have to vacate the championship which she has held for over 380 days. Ripley successfully defended the title at WrestleMania 40 in a match against "The Man" Becky Lynch.

In the ring, Ripley addresses the attack from Liv Morgan, told that she's stuck on the bench for "quite a few months." She's also been informed that she needs to vacate the Women's World Championship. The crowd chants "bullsh--t" which Ripley agrees with because the championship means the world to her and why it's so painful. She lays the title down in the ring as the fans began chanting "thank you Mami." She blames Morgan's revenge tour for the reason she's injured. Instead of going face to face, she blindsided her like the "coward" she is.

She sends a warning to whoever wins the title because when she returns she's coming back for blood. Morgan's music hits as WWE officials and security try to hold them both back. Ticked off, she attacks the security guards trying to calm the situation. The Judgment Day embraces Ripley backstage, Priest hypes her up knowing that she's going to come back more badass than ever and she'll take down Morgan once and for all.

Morgan has been on a "revenge tour" of sorts getting re-injured last summer. To keep up the storyline, Ripley attacked Morgan backstage and thus took her out of action until her big return at the Royal Rumble. Morgan entered at No. 30 and nearly made it to the end, but she was eliminated as Bayley would be this year's winner. Morgan then qualified for the Elimination Chamber for a shot at Ripley at WrestleMania, but Lynch obviously walked out of that match victorious.

Baron Corbin recently picked back up his jiu-jitsu career and in doing so placed second in the Florida Jiu Jitsu World League Tournament, earning himself a silver medal. While he's still very much wrestling full-time, Corbin is now admitting that there is an "itch" when it comes to wanting try out MMA. He previously told Chris Van Vliet that with football not working out for him, his next steps were either the UFC or WWE. After a conversation about the longevity of a WWE career vs. the UFC, Corbin ultimately made his decision.

Several WWE Superstars past and present come from or have some sort of a martial arts background, including Bobby Lashley, Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar and Shayna Baszler. When asked how tempting it is to try, Corbin cut off the interviewer to respond. "Very. I know where you're going. Very. That's why I'm back doing jiu-jitsu competitions and choking people out. When I was out in Philly for WrestleMania, I went and trained with a UFC fighter for the day, and I was like, 'Man.' You get the itch."

The conversation then shifted to taking punches and liking the pain, to which Corin explained that he likes the frame of mind it takes to get there. "There is something about it. It gets those endorphins going. The training, the grind to get there," Corbin told the Johnny Dare Show. "I like the mind frame you have to get into when you're in there. When I was training in Philly, it was all these black belts and I was getting my ass whooped. That toughness. 'You got me this time, I'm going to get you.' There is something about it. It's something you chase. I get irritated and little sensitive when guys are like, 'I'm a fighter.' 'How many fights did you have?' 'I don't have any fights, I just train at the gym.' That's different, you're a brown belt, but you've never been in competition. There is a big separation from people who train and people who compete. It's that mindframe, that weird glitch we all have that we like to get in there and smack each other in the face."

Last summer, WWE officially merged with the UFC creating TKO, the largest sports giant in the world. Though there is yet to be any legitimate crossover between the two brands outside of some of the top fighters and stars appearing in the crowd, several top talent have expressed an interest in stepping into the squared circle and the octagon. WWE has made a bid to bring in Connor McGregor for years but it never came to fruition. Recently, however, he gave a very optimistic answer that was neither a yes or no as to whether or not he'd compete in WWE. "You never know, let's see," the multi-time champion recently told Adam's Apple.

H/T: Fightful

Former STARDOM Co-founder Rossy Ogawa today announced via a press conference his brand new promotion, Dream Star Fighting Marigold (Marigold for short). Ogawa was terminated from STARDOM in February by Bushiroad on accusations of talent poaching which he vehemently denied at the time, instead announcing that he would be starting his own promotion. Several top stars in STARDOM with an allegiance to Ogawa also exited, including Giulia who just finished up her final dates with STARDOM this past weekend.

So far, the Marigold roster includes Giulia, Utami Hayashishita, MIRAI, Mai Sakurai, Victoria Yuzuki (f.k.a. Yuzuki), Nanae Takahashi and Nao Ishikawa. At the end of the press conference, six former Actwres girl'Z talent -- Natsumi Sumikawa, Miku Aono, Misa Matsui, CHIAKI, Chika Goto, and KOUKI -- announced they will also be part of the roster. For their first tour, Myla Grace, Zayda Steel and Bozilla will join the fray. The first Marigold show will take place at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on May 20. MARIGOLD Fields Forever will be headlined by Giulia team with a mystery partner against Sareee and a mystery partner. Nanae Takahashi vs. Victoria Yuzuki will also take place. For fans that can't make it to the show live, it will stream on WRESTLE UNIVERSE with English commentary available.

Marigold's official X (formerly Twitter) account released a statement following the news, writing, "Marigold is the next step in the evolution of women's professional wrestling, not just in Japan but all over the world. It reflects the past of women's professional wrestling and leads the revolution into the future. And it has the role of connecting the culture of women's professional wrestling to future generations. Follow the heroic figures of the dream warriors shining in the golden garden."

Tokyo Sports is also reporting that Ogawa and WWE have been in talks to bring in former STARDOM champions IYO SKY and Kairi Sane to Marigold. The report follows comments from WWE President Nick Khan that indicate he is looking "to engineer a collaboration with other professional wrestling promotions." In less than a year, WWE has sent NXT's Charlie Dempsey to AJPW and Shayna Baszler to GCW.

It's been reported that Giulia, a top female free agent in professional wrestling, will likely help Ogawa kickstart the promotion and then head off to other ventures. During WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia, Giulia appeared live in the crowd at NXT Stand and Deliver where WWE cameras captured her smiling and waving. She was then pictured backstage with WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque and reports were flying in that she had agreed to sign with WWE. The former multi-time STARDOM Champion and NJPW STRONG Women's Champion revealed in an interview that there will be announcements in the "not too distant future."

Thunder Rosa returned to the ring after a year long battle with her injured back in December. In August of 2022, Rosa was forced to vacate the Women's World Championship after five months of holding the belt. Since her return, she's been steadily climbing the ranks of the women's division and will challenge the AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm at this week's AEW Dynasty pay-per-view. Rosa has been candid about the injury nearly ending her career and causing her mental distress. In a recent interview with KiddChris Show, Rosa explained that while she didn't get a back fusion, but the possibility of surgery in the future is not out of question.

"I didn't," she said when asked if she got a back fusion. "I think the possibility of surgery will be probably in the future. There were two things happening at the same time. I had tears on my lower back and I had herniations. Before you can do anything, you have to wait for the tears to not be tears. After, that's when you can do the exercises. It took me about seven to eight months to exercise properly. There are a lot of things I had to change with training anf in my life. I was a runner, I can no longer run. You have to pick and choose what you can do. I want to still be at 100% in the ring, so I had to change everything."

When is AEW Dynasty?

AEW Dynasty is the promotion's latest pay-per-view event in an attempt to create a monthly event cycle. In 2023, AEW introduced the highly successful AEW All In event in London, AEW WrestleDream where Adam Copeland debuted and AEW Worlds End. Dynasty emanates from St. Louis Missouri at the Chaifetz Arena with several high-profile matchups.

First, Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay -- two of the greatest of their respective generations -- will finally meet face to face to determine who the best wrestler in the world really is. The Young Bucks and FTR will have their fourth outing, but the first with a stipulation, to crown the first three-time AEW World Tag Team Champions. Samoa Joe defends the AEW World Championship against Swerve Strickland who will attempt to claim his first singles title in AEW. AEW Dynasty will be available to stream in the United States via Triller TV, Bleacher Report, YouTube TV and select theaters.

AEW Dynasty 2024 Card

• AEW Women's World Championship: "Timeless" Toni Storm (c) vs. Thunder Rosa

• Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay

• AEW World Tag Team Championships (vacant): Young Bucks vs. FTR -- ladder match

• Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe & Eddie Kingston vs. House of Black

• AEW World Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Swerve Strickland

• AEW International Championship: Roderick Strong (c) vs. Kyle O'Reilly

• AEW Continental Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. PAC

• TBS Championship: Julia Hart (c) vs. Willow Nightingale

H/T: Fightful

After a successful title defense at WrestleMania 40, Rhea Ripley may be forced to vacate the WWE Women's World Championship due to injury.

According to a report from PWInsider, the belief is that the injure may be so severe that she will have no choice but to drop the championship after a backstage brawl with Liv Morgan on WWE Raw last week. In fact. her vacating could happen as soon as tonight's episode of Raw. Morgan attacked Ripley from behind with a chair, catching her off guard and attacking her injured arm. WWE officials stepped in to pull the two away from each other as Dominik Mysterio came to Ripley's aid.

Ripley surpassed a full calendar year as champion when she defeated Becky Lynch on night one of this year's WrestleMania. With the win, she added a new accolade to her collection by officially defeating all of the four horsewomen. It's also worth noting that in recent weeks, Ripley has been battling a wrist injury that she's been keeping a brace on. The brace was clearly shown on last week's Raw, so it's clearly something that's still irritating the champion. There's no word as of now as to whether or not this injury is related, but she noted in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on MMA Hour that it has been bothering her for "a while."

"[The brace is for] my wrist. It's been bothering me for a while, but it's okay," Ripley said. "It's nothing I can't handle, to be honest. In this kind of work, there's always little bits and pieces going on, so you just fight through it."

As for how it happened, Ripley explained that it was simply "wear and tear" of wrestling for an extended period of time. "[It happened by] just doing my job. Wear and tear. Just continuously on the road, continuously having matches and doing all these things, and every now and then, something happens, but you just overcome it pretty much. It's been bothering me for a few months, maybe two months now, but I've been in this cast for maybe a week-and-a-half."

Comicbook.com wishes Ripley the best in her recovery and will continue to monitor the situation to provide further updates.

H/T: Wrestling Inc.

WWE has begun to populate its roster with ex-AEW talent. For the first three years of the start-up wrestling promotion's existence, just about every talent that showed up on AEW television was exclusive to AEW, barring the occasional one-off appearance from New Japan Pro Wrestling or Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide stars. That changed in April 2022 when multi-time AEW TNT Champion and co-founder of the company Cody Rhodes defected back to WWE. Names like Brian Pillman Jr. (NXT's Lexis King) and Jade Cargill would follow suit, becoming the first "homegrown" AEW stars to join WWE.

Willow Nightingale Was "Encouraged" to Attend WWE Tryout

In another timeline, Willow Nightingale might have ended up in WWE before ever competing for AEW.

Speaking on Talk is Jericho, Willow revealed that friend and current WWE superstar Chelsea Green once "encouraged" her to attend a WWE tryout during a time that she was doing extra work for the sports-entertainment giant.

"One time, I was doing extra work, and Chelsea Green encouraged me to be like, 'Why don't you just ask? It's honestly that simple. The worst thing that can happen is they say no,'" Willow recalled. "I was like, 'Alright, maybe. I'll build myself up to that. I'll get there.' Not for a contract, but a tryout. I hadn't even had a tryout."

Willow made her wrestling debut in 2015, making a name for herself across the northeast independent circuit. She caught the attention of AEW in early 2021, competing for the company on a per-appearance basis for the rest of that year. Willow was officially on AEW contract come October 2022.

"Also, around that time, there were all these talks of 'if you're over a certain age [WWE is] not really interested in you,'" Willow continued. "Around that time, I was 26 or so and I was like, 'I'm so old,' which is crazy. There was a lot of talking myself out of it."

Willow is currently enjoying her most prominent role in AEW yet. She is set to challenge Julia Hart for the AEW TBS Championship at AEW Dynasty and appears poised to enter a feud with Mercedes Mon? shortly after. Willow and Mercedes previously did battle last year at NJPW Resurgence in the finals to crown the inaugural NJPW STRONG Women's Champion. Mercedes would suffer an ankle injury in that match, resulting in Willow picking up the title win.

The Shield continues to gain prestige every passing week. Over a decade ago, the trio of Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley), Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns made their collective main roster debut, interfering in the WWE Championship match at WWE Survivor Series 2012. Named The Shield the following night on WWE Monday Night Raw, this group would run roughshod on WWE for the next 18 months, beating legends like John Cena and The Undertaker while also collecting championships along the way. After splitting in June 2014, Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns embarked on singles careers that immediately skyrocketed them to the main event picture. In just about two years, each member of The Shield had a WWE Championship on his r?sum?.

The Shield's Unprecedented Dominance Continues

Ten years removed from their split, the Hounds of Justice continue to dominant the wrestling industry.

Five days after Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns lost the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the Undisputed WWE Universal Title, respectively, Jon Moxley captured the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, the top prize in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Moxley's world title drought hasn't been long, as he was AEW World Champion as recently as November 2022.

Moxley's win also resumes a wild statistic for his former stable. Aside from the five days in between WWE WrestleMania 40 Night 2 and NJPW Windy City Riot, at least one member of The Shield has been a world champion every day since February 29th, 2020.

• Jon Moxley wins AEW World Championship - February 29th, 2020
• Roman Reigns wins WWE Universal Championship - August 30th, 2020
• Jon Moxley loses AEW World Championship - December 2nd, 2020
• Roman Reigns wins WWE Championship - April 3rd, 2022
  
• Jon Moxley wins Interim AEW World Championship - June 26th, 2022
• Jon Moxley wins Lineal AEW World Championship - August 24th, 2022
• Jon Moxley loses AEW World Championship - September 4th, 2022
• Jon Moxley wins AEW World Championship - September 21st, 2022
• Jon Moxley loses AEW World Championship - November 19th 2022
• Seth Rollins wins WWE World Heavyweight Championship - May 27th, 2023
• Seth Rollins loses WWE World Heavyweight Championship - April 7th, 2024
• Roman Reigns loses Undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Championship - April 7th, 2024
• FIVE DAYS WITHOUT A WORLD TITLE
• Jon Moxley wins IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - April 12th, 2024

This stretch doesn't include midcard championships or world titles from independent promotions. Within this four-year stretch, Moxley also has reigns with the GCW World Championship, IWGP United States Championship, and AEW International Championship to his name. Seth Rollins had a WWE United States Title run within this period as well.

Wrestling has more than one... wrestling company.

After decades of operating like the only show in town, WWE has begun to loosen the locks on its forbidden door. While WWE has name-dropped promotions like Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling on television before, it was only in the 2020s that WWE began to have deliberate collaborations with other companies. Karl Anderson was allowed to defend his NEVER Openweight Championship in NJPW while under WWE contract. Shinsuke Nakamura stepped inside a Pro Wrestling NOAH ring during The Great Muta's retirement tour. TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace entered the Women's Royal Rumble. Shayna Baszler was permitted to compete at GCW Bloodsport during WWE WrestleMania 40 weekend.

Sporadic as they might be, these crossovers are sewing the seeds for WWE to set up longer term working relationships. Sports Illustrated reported that WWE President Nick Khan is especially keen on this, as contacts surrounding him have indicated that he is looking "to engineer a collaboration with other professional wrestling promotions." Khan was named as the one to green light WWE's recent one-off crossover with TNA, which saw WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque and then-TNA President Scott D'Amore work out Grace's aforementioned WWE Royal Rumble appearance.

One infinity stone missing from WWE's crossover gauntlet is All Elite Wrestling. Launching in 2019, AEW immediately established itself as the second-largest professional wrestling company in the world and quickly rose from an alternative option to a challenger brand.

Speaking to ComicBook.com, AEW President Tony Khan responded to the report that WWE was open to collaborations.

"If WWE came calling to you to do, not even necessarily a collaborative show, but just share talent, share promotion, would you consider AEW to be open for business with WWE?" ComicBook.com's Liam Crowley asked Tony.

"It's an interesting thought," Tony responded. "It would depend on the circumstance."

While outright crossovers have yet to happen, WWE and AEW have done business together before. Billy Gunn appeared and spoke on stage during D-Generation X's televised WWE Hall of Fame induction in April 2019, three months into his AEW contract. Tony granted Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, and Paul Wight permission to send pre-recorded videos in to WWE Monday Night Raw for John Cena's wrestling anniversary special.

Things have stalled since, as AEW did not allow Billy Gunn to participate in a D-Generation X reunion on a Fall 2022 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. AEW reportedly requested that WWE acknowledge Gunn's status as a member of the AEW roster on the broadcast, and when WWE refused, AEW pulled back on allowing the appearance. It's as to how much communication there is between the two companies today, but its worth noting that WWE did not even reach out to AEW for a potential Jon Moxley appearance at WWE WrestleMania 40 during The Shield reunion moment in the main event.

WWE has loosed the locks on its forbidden door. Since Paul "Triple H" Levesque took the creative reins of the company, WWE has been a bit more lenient in allowing crossovers with other promotions. This was exemplified with moments like Shinsuke Nakamura competing for Pro Wrestling NOAH to battle The Great Muta, TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace entering the Women's Royal Rumble, and Shayna Baszler fighting at GCW Bloodsport. While the exchanges have been minimal thus far, there is said to be renewed interest within WWE when it comes to forging working relationships with professional wrestling promotions across the industry.

WWE x NJPW Crossover?

Big E wants to see WWE's forbidden door open to the Far East.

"There's a ton of great talent in New Japan. I feel like New Japan has greatly influenced a lot of the style of modern US wrestling. At least we all think we can make it in New Japan. A lot of us dream of one day doing a run in Japan, or doing a G1," Big E said on Fanatics Live. "But it takes a toll, from what I hear. It'd be cool. It's really cool to see Shayna [Baszler] at Bloodsport. I feel like now we're in an atmosphere where you might get to see a talent change between New Japan and WWE. That'd be cool."

WWE had previously entertained working with New Japan Pro Wrestling back in 2021, around the time that AEW had begun its partnership with NJPW. These talks were reportedly born in an effort to retain Daniel Bryan, as WWE was going to allow him to work for NJPW and compete in the G1 Climax while still under contract. Bryan would ultimately take his talents to AEW and has competed there as Bryan Danielson for the past three years.

"About two years ago, there was a rumor I read on the internet that my business partner, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, had gotten a phone call from (WWE's) Nick Khan about switching over to work with them and I was really just getting started with New Japan," AEW President Tony Khan said of the rumored WWE x NJPW partnership during a 2023 interview. "We only had been working together a short time.

"I called the New Japan executives and said, 'Is this true? Did WWE call you and try to get you to turn on me?' They said, 'Yeah.' And I said, 'Okay, well are we still doing the stuff we have planned?' They told me, 'No, we don't trust them. We wanna work with you and we wanna stay with you.' Ever since, our relationship has been incredibly positive."

Mercedes Mon?'s AEW debut rocked the wrestling world. The former Sasha Banks arrived in All Elite Wrestling this past March at AEW Dynamite: Big Business, showing face in front of her hometown crowd at Boston's TD Garden. Mon?'s debut was akin to CM Punk's first AEW appearance, as both were marketed as "worst kept secrets," went down in the stars' hometown arenas, and were announced as televised specials with subtitles hinting at their arrivals. Like how Punk's first AEW promo reached the wrestling industry far and wide, Mon?'s introductory oratory exhibition especially hit home with one retired WWE Hall of Famer.

Nikki Bella Was Ready to Join AEW

In another timeline, Nikki Bella would have been #AllElite.

Speaking on the Nikki & Brie Show, Nikki revealed she recently considered reaching out to AEW President Tony Khan about joining the company for a year.

"Since we've been lifting so much, we always say, we always start to get that wrestling mindset, 'We're going to go back and do this story and cut this promo.' How serious I got? I was like, 'Okay, I think I can do maybe a year at AEW and I can do it every week,'" Nikki said. "When I saw Mercedes [Mercedes Mone] debut and cut her promo, that line stuck with me, 'Here, we're going to make the evolution worldwide.'

"I was like, 'They do.' It goes into many leagues, is what she means, it doesn't have to be at one place. It can be at all these places where all these women are wrestling at. I go [to my sister], 'Brie, I think I can do it for a year. I can do it here to here and go every week.' I had a good week of like, 'This is it. I'm going to call Tony Khan. I'm your girl. I will commit.' Then, I was like, 'I can't do that to my son right now. He needs me.'"

Both Bella Twins have ties to AEW. Brie's husband, Bryan Danielson, has been a centerpiece of the company for over half of its existence. Longtime friends Saraya (WWE's Paige) and Renee Paquette (WWE's Renee Young) are also regulars on programming. The Bellas both attended AEW Revolution 2023 and shared photographs backstage to social media.

Nikki's praise of AEW's "worldwide evolution" with the women's division comes within the "forbidden door" concept. AEW has had long-running relationships with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and New Japan Pro Wrestling, but the company is now putting an emphasis on working with female-specific promotions like STARDOM. AEW Women's Champion Toni Storm and Mariah May are currently intertwined in a storyline with Joshi talent.

The Bellas officially left WWE in 2023 after their contracts expired. They now use their real names, Nikki and Brie Garcia, professionally.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is back in WWE, and its not just for a one-off cameo. The Rock ended his four-year hiatus from WWE this past fall, popping by WWE SmackDown to share the ring with Pat McAfee and Austin Theory in a traditional smack talk, smack down a midcard heel segment. Things changed in January when The Rock showed face at WWE Monday Night Raw: Day 1, as he made a long-awaited subtle challenge to then-Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. While things slid and shifted over the subsequent months, Rock did become a regular on WWE programming every week, feuding with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the lead-up to a tag match against the two at WWE WrestleMania 40.

In a mirror to his last extended run, The Rock made an appearance on the WWE Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania to tease that more is to come. Instead of manifesting that he would capture the WWE Championship, The Rock told Rhodes that his story with him "is just beginning" and that he would be coming after him once he returned to WWE.

The Rock Looks Towards WWE WrestleMania 41

While that return date is unknown at the moment, fans can at least expect to see The Final Boss at the next Showcase of the Immortals.

"Now, my sights are set on the next WrestleMania," The Rock teased in an Instagram Reel. "But that's down the road, a conversation [for] down the road."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dwayne Johnson (@therock)

Based on current storylines, Rock's WWE WrestleMania 41 program could be with either WWE Champion Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns. Rock's Raw after WrestleMania warning to Rhodes indicates that the two will battle eventually, but that match could happen at a WWE SummerSlam or WWE Royal Rumble.

"Congratulations to Cody Rhodes, the new Universal Champion," The Rock continued. "As I had said, when 'The Final Boss' returns, he's coming back for you. I'll make you bleed again, boy [laughs]. Congratulations, Cody Rhodes."

The endgame for The Rock's WWE return and arguably his entire WWE career is a match against Reigns, as the Tribal Chief persona is built around Rock being Reigns's final boss, pun intended. A match of that caliber, which could very well be pitted as Tribal Chief vs. Career, is one that will only happen at WrestleMania.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on The Rock's WWE future.

Eric Young first joined WWE in 2016 for the NXT brand where he remained until 2018 as part of the SAnitY tag team. He was eventually called up to the main roster but was released in 2020 during a round of cuts in the pandemic era. He returned to IMPACT/TNA Wrestling shortly after, the company that he's given so much to throughout his career. Then, in 2022, he was written off television as he quietly re-signed with WWE. That didn't last long, though, and Young has been incredibly vocal as to why he decided to leave WWE on his social media and in interviews.

On Saturday Night's Main Event, Young opened up about having to sign an NDA before leaving the company, noting that he's not allowed to say any names. He also admits that he never actually left his house to go to work when he re-signed.

"I didn't, no. I actually never left my house (after agreeing to return to WWE in 2022). I mean, the whole story's wild. Again, I had to sign an NDA, and I'm not allowed to say names..." When the host asks if Young's NDA is as ironclad as Janel Grant's, he alleges it depends if the case goes federal or not. "It depends if it goes federal or not. I mean, I might be able to say everything here within a few months but, the truth is, I don't need to talk badly on it. It is what it is and I talked to Hunter and he hired me back and wanted me back there and I was and another person came back and I won't work for that person, I won't be around that person and I said that when I left there the first time when I got fired and I meant it and you know, for me, there was tons of professional reasons. But mostly, it's a personal and moral decision. I don't have to be there. I have a very good life outside of there and there's no doubt, it's the pinnacle of sports entertainment. We just saw this weekend. I mean, I don't know if it could be more perfect, to be honest. It's the big fish in the pond and no one will say that, I will never change my mind on it. That was my goal. I went there and I had a bunch of cool things. I was hired back there to do something very cool and it just didn't work out and in the end, I was gonna be forced to compromise who I am as a person and as a man and I'm not willing to do that and it's not lost on me that I was able to make that choice because a lot of people aren't gonna get that choice. You're gonna make decisions and you're gonna be forced to do what you gotta do. If this was 10 or 15 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to make that choice."

Young makes it clear that the current management is not what he has an issue with, and in fact if he wanted to make a return to WWE he can "1,000 percent guarantee" he could. "In the end, I guess you can say joke's on me, because that person is not around anymore... I can give you 1,000 percent guarantee, [If] I wanted to work there, I could. It's just at this point in my life, I'm just not interested. I believe in what I'm doing and that's worth more than almost anything to me right now and it has nothing to do with disparaging anything that goes on there. I still talk to Hunter (to) this day. We're still buddies. I still have utmost respect for him and 95 percent of the people that work there, and especially the people that make that show go and that's the people in the ring and if that's what you wanna do and that's your decision then that's your decision. It was never about being a leadership or proving a point or anything like that. I think some people took it that way and some people went, 'Man, it's really cool.' In the end, it was a selfish reason, because I couldn't live with myself. It's just as simple as that. I made a promise to myself and I kept it. So, that was that."

Young returned to IMPACT/TNA at Slammiversary 2023, teaming with former TNA President Scott D'Amore against Bully Ray and Deaner. He's previously made it clear that at this stage in his career, he sees himself retiring in TNA.

H/T: POST Wrestling

Logan Paul may have just gotten an offer to join one of the most dominating stables in WWE, the Judgment Day. Dominik Mysterio took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to tease fans about Paul joining the Judgment Day faction, asking how he feels about black and purple with a photo of the two shaking hands attached and "#JudgmentDay." Paul later responded with a photoshopped version of his gear made to be purple and a smirk emoji.

? https://t.co/CQToEAyqfz pic.twitter.com/6xCSrFGWVG

-- Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) April 14, 2024

The two have a shared history in WWE, as Mysterio was part of Paul's very first match in WWE at WrestleMania 38. During the first night of the event, Paul teamed with The Miz against Rey and Dominik Mysterio. Shortly after, Dominik joined the Judgment Day stable and has been a critical member ever since. In August of 2023, Paul discussed Dominik on Impaulsive, stating that he believed the two of them could be the most hated duo of all time.

"I had a crazy idea recently for Dom. Because Dom is super heel right now. Dominik Mysterio cannot get a word out," Paul said. "He lifts the microphone to his mouth, and the whole arena, 'Boo.' He can't cut a promo, and he plays on it, and it's really working. They hate him. Logan Paul, Dominik Mysterio tag team. The most hated duo of all time. The most hated tag team partners in WWE just crushing it, running through it. Because we have the story arc too. We both did our first WrestleMania together. That was both our first WrestleMania."

Over two years into its run, Judgment Day is still dominating WWE. Rhea Ripley stands as the solo female member of the group and the WWE Women's Champion who just surpassed one full calendar year as champion when she defeated Becky Lynch. She has now taken down all four horsewomen, ushering in a new era of the women's evolution in WWE. Meanwhile, Damian Priest and Finn Balor were the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, but those titles were officially split at WrestleMania and the duo lost the titles. Priest wasn't without gold for long, though, cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 40.

For Dominik, he's the most hated Superstar in WWE currently and he can't go to a single arena without being booed out of the building. At WrestleMania last weekend, Paul retained the United States Championship against two former United States Champions in Randy Orton and Kevin Owens.

What do you think of Paul joining the Judgment Day? Let us know in the comments!

On the newest season of Celebrity Family Feud, several WWE Superstars will compete against one another. The teams include real life husband and wife duo Bianca Belair and Montez Ford as the captains of their respective teams. Belair revealed the news on her social media accounts, also giving a sneak peek at who is on their teams. Team Belair includes recent SmackDown addition Jade Cargill, Michin (Mia Yim), Zelina Vega and Sonya Deville who is currently out injured. On Team Tez is his Street Profits tag team partner Angelo Dawkins, Bobby Lashley, LA Knight, and SmackDown Tag Team Champion Austin Theory.

Currently there is no release date for the episode but the newest season is currently filming, as evident by Theory holding the tag team title belt and Cargill's hair. In a post shared to social media, Belair called the appearance a "bucket list" item, writing, "Bucket List Check Off!!! FAMILY FEUD!!! Team BELAIR vs. Team MONTEZ @FamilyFeud #FamilyFeud"

Bucket List Check Off!!!
FAMILY FEUD!!!
Team BELAIR vs. Team MONTEZ@FamilyFeud #FamilyFeud pic.twitter.com/Piit8dxem3

-- Bianca Belair (@BiancaBelairWWE) April 14, 2024

WWE Superstars are no stranger to the game show setting. Several WWE Superstars have competed against one another on Pictionary, NBC's The Weakest Link, That's My Jam, and even Celebrity Family Feud. Most recently, Becky Lynch competed on Celebrity Jeopardy with Macaulay Culkin and Rachel Dratch where she was the first player to get zero answers correct across 60 clues.

Per the synopsis, Celebrity Family Feud is "hosted by stand-up comedian, actor, author and Emmy Award winner Steve Harvey, Celebrity Family Feud features celebrities, along with their immediate family members or their extended TV families, going head-to-head in a contest to name the most popular responses to survey-type questions posed to 100 people for a chance to win money for a charity of their choice."

The show was renewed for a 10th season back in February after standing as ABC's No. 1 series and ranked No. 1 in the Sunday 8 p.m. hour last summer. Myeshia Mizuno (Judge Steve Harvey) is set to join this season as showrunner. Two specials will also air later this year in celebration of the iconic show, Family Feud: Decades of Laughs and Family Feud: The Best of Steve Harvey, highlighting some of the best moments from the syndicated and primetime shows throughout the years. The renowned game show and specials will air this summer on ABC and stream next day on Hulu.

Are you excited to see the WWE Superstars compete against each other on Celebrity Family Feud? Let us know in the comments!

Kenny Omega has been battling a severe case of diverticulitis and diverticulosis since December when he admitted himself to the hospital following an episode of AEW Dynamite. He had been dealing with the effects of what he thought was an ulcer from his prior injuries until doctors notified him that if he had waited a day longer it could have spelled disaster for the Best Bout Machine. In his time out of the ring, he's taken to starting a Twitch channel to stream games and chat with fans where he regularly gives updates on his condition.

Recently he's noted that he may very well need surgery if he wants to get back into the ring again, but his day-to-day life has been saved by a supplement line that helps keep the inflammation in his gut down so he can have some semblance of comfort.

"Even though I'm very much still dealing with the effects of diverticulitis and diverticulosis. There is this wonderful clinic, LifeMed Clinic over in Baltimore, and they have helped a number of wrestlers. They have done stuff with DPP and DDP Yoga. Their professionals were able to hook me up with a supplement line consisting of the stuff that I need for general gut health and healing peptides, has helped me feel very good in my day-to-day," Omega explained on his latest Twitch stream. "Before, I was having one real bad day and one real good day. On streaming days, I would almost stay in bed until 5 p.m. to make sure I could do it. It's something I wanted to do. IV drips, being hydrated, even though it sounds like a strange thing. When it's bad, you don't feel like digesting anything because drinking and eating hurts. With these supplements, a lot of my inflammation has gone down. I'm able to eat properly and drink more fluids without feeling discomfort. Aside from feeling sensitive to the touch, for a quick second I thought, 'Oh my goodness, is it possible I'm able to go back without surgery?' Nah. The first time I take someone's double foot stomp, even if it's Marko Stunt or Riho, something is probably going to blow. Even if Dobby walks on my belly, that's a 21-pound cat. As good as I feel right now in my day to day and training, once impact starts to get involved or you have to use your core to do heavy lifts, that's when things start to get dangerous. I'm going to have to make sure it's all taken care of."

Omega has made it clear he doesn't currently have a timetable on when he can return to the ring but AEW President Tony Khan recently told Comicbook.com that they are "hopeful" and "optimistic" about a future in-ring return. "I don't want to put pressure on it," Khan noted. "He was really in a bad way. I don't want to put a timetable or try to rush him back, but I'm optimistic we'll see Kenny Omega again. Certainly it's something for all the fans to look forward to. I think everybody's just going to go crazy when Kenny does come back, which I think we're all very optimistic about."

Comicbook.com continues to send well wishes to Omega and will provide further updates as they are known.

H/T: Fightful

In recent weeks, WWE has begun teasing the return of Uncle Howdy to its programming. It started when the Bray Wyatt documentary was released on Peacock. Toward the end, a very short clip of him was shown leading fans to speculate that something big is coming. It then bled over to WWE's weekly programming as little clues have been littered throughout Raw and SmackDown.

The Wyatt Family was a staple faction for years, led by the incomparable late Bray Wyatt. There have been multiple attempts to rekindle the group over the years but Erick Rowan and Luke Harper/Brodie Lee were eventually released by WWE and Bray went on his own solo run, also teaming with Alexa Bliss at one point. Now that Bo Dallas seems to be carrying the torch of his brother in WWE as Uncle Howdy, a former member of the Wyatt Family very well could join the fray.

Is Erick Rowan On His Way Back to WWE?

Over the weekend, East Coast Pro Wrestling alerted fans to a big change in the card. Former WWE Superstar Erick Rowan put in a notice that he wouldn't be able to fulfill his obligations with several independent promotions, including ECPW due to "new contractual obligations." Often times when wrestlers are signed to WWE, "contractual obligations" is a reason given without outright stating they signed a deal with WWE. Rowan has been a free agent since his release from WWE during the pandemic in 2020. He did make a one-off appearance following the tragic passing of Bray in 2023 on SmackDown, but he wasn't signed with WWE during that time. He has made various appearances in AEW.

Since WrestleMania 40 the Uncle Howdy teases have taken over WWE. What first began as a glitch that interrupted Bronson Reed's promo on WWE Raw then turned into the WWE X (formerly Twitter) account getting "hacked" with the word "Hello." The post was up just long enough for fans to grab a screenshot of it before it was taken down. On SmackDown this week, two more teases happened. For those in attendance, during commercial the screens started flickering to coincide with the eery music playing. Then during the women's tag team match, the corner of the screen revealed the words "you forgot about us."

Comicbook.com will continue to provide updates on Rowan as they are known.

Would you like to see Rowan back in WWE? Let us know in the comments!

The Young Bucks and FTR's match at AEW Dynasty just got an added stipulation.

Going into the inaugural pay-per-view next week, the Young Bucks and FTR are heading into the fourth match of their iconic rivalry. They know each other better than anyone but there's not a stipulation the Bucks know more than a ladder match. In fact, it's how they have won several titles over their tenured careers. In 2022, the Young Bucks won their second AEW World Tag Team Championships in a ladder match against Jurassic Express. This marks the first gimmick match the two teams have had together in their rivalry that has become very personal as of late.

BREAKING: Matthew & Nicholas Jackson will face FTR for the #AEW World Tag Team Titles in a LADDER MATCH next Sunday at #AEWDynasty!

Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on TNT!@youngbucks | @CashWheelerFTR | @DaxFTR pic.twitter.com/Wu8yzv0Zfm

-- All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 14, 2024

FTR and the Young Bucks last faced one another at AEW All In last August where Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler came out victorious against the veteran tag team to retain the championships. Coincidentally, that was the same show where CM Punk and Jack Perry got into a backstage altercation moments before Punk's scheduled match against Samoa Joe. The Bucks have been playing into that fact as FTR are notably good friends of Punk.

On AEW Dynamite this week, they showed official CCTV footage from that event which showed Punk lunge at Perry following Perry's "real glass" comments on the pre-show. The Bucks compare it to a "high school scrap" and state the ramifications threatened to take down their biggest show of all time but they're lucky it didn't.

The Young Bucks and FTR earned a title shot after entering the tag team tournament for a shot at the vacant AEW World Tag Team Championships. At AEW Revolution, Sting and Darby Allin retained the titles against the Young Bucks and Sting officially retired with the belt. The tournament opened a lot of opportunity for young tag teams to thrive which they did. Most notably, Top Flight and The Infantry, but Best Friends got some character development in their tag team as well with the Trent Beretta heel turn. Matthew and Nicholas Jackson defeated Private Party and Best Friends to earn their spot in the finals while FTR picked up victories over Top Flight and The Infantry.

What do you think of the added stipulation to the match? Who do you think will walk out of the match as three-time AEW World Tag Team Champions? Let us know in the comments!

Since AEW has begun fostering a relationship with STARDOM, several of the top stars in the promotion have made their way into the fold. Mina Shirakawa for example, has been on Ring of Honor television first facing Anna Jay and then taking part in a huge six-woman tag team match at ROH Supercard of Honor during WrestleMania weekend.

On AEW Rampage, Anna Jay expressed her frustrations with the women's division and how nobody was taking it seriously. She referenced the kiss spot between Mina and Mariah May on Dynamite to which AZM agreed that they were "stupid." AZM then targeted the AEW Women's World Champion, and a match between them was made official for this week's Collision. Storm and AZM have brief history together from Storm's time in STARDOM, she faced off against Queen's Quest on various occasions. She also has history with Mariah May who departed STARDOM late last year. May was part of Club Venus. This marks AZM's official AEW in-ring debut.

Representing Queen's Quest, AZM looks to earn a future title shot in this #AEW Women's World Title Eliminator Match!

Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on TNT!#ToniStorm | @azumikan1411 | @wwr_stardom pic.twitter.com/pqYCGfO1l5

-- All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 14, 2024

AEW and STARDOM's Working Relationship

it's been heavily reported that AEW President Tony Khan and former STARDOM co-founder Rossy Ogawa who was let go earlier this year have issues with one another. When news of the termination broke, Khan tweeted a gif from Curb Your Enthusiasm accompanied by a simple "Bye Rossy!"

Since STARDOM has found itself under new management, things seem to be smoothed over between the sides. Ahead of AEW Big Business, Khan shared a photo of himself with STARDOM President Taro Okada and Dave Meltzer reported that the two businessmen had met to discuss STARDOM talent working this year's Forbidden Door pay-per-view. When the first Forbidden Door show was announced, many fans assumed STARDOM would have great involvement given their working relationship with NJPW at the time. Khan expressed wanting to work with the promotion but at that time, there was no availability. Coincidentally, on both Forbidden Door 2022 and 2023, STARDOM ran their own shows, keeping the talent from appearing on AEW/NJPW.

"I was interested in using STARDOM, obviously they have a close relationship with New Japan, and all the wrestlers from STARDOM were pretty much booked and they didn't have visas. It was a big obstacle," Khan said during the 2022 Forbidden Door post-show media scrum. "There is definitely potential there. Certainly, Toni is one of the hottest and rising stars in AEW since she arrived in AEW. I thought it made great sense because she's been a champion in Japan, has great experience at STARDOM, and someone who has been on our TV. It was a great match we could build to. It was not a blood rivalry. It was forged in mutual respect and fought it with honor."

Are you excited to see AEW working with STARDOM? Let us know in the comments!

Rocky Romero has been instrumental in fostering a relationship between New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling. It was recently reported that Romero now works in the front office of AEW. However, he has now taken up a new position in NJPW. Romero revealed on his social media ahead of the Windy City Riot show in Chicago that he is the "NJOA VP Of Show & Talent Coordination."

NJOA VP Of Show & Talent Coordination #njriot #njpw #njpwSTRONG pic.twitter.com/ZgL9sEwCTK

-- ROCKY ROMERO?? ?? ?? ??"Chico El Luchador" (@azucarRoc) April 13, 2024

Romero has worked with NJPW in some capacity since 2010. He is currently signed with the promotion as an in-ring talent and an ambassador. Romero is credited as the person to help bring Mercedes Mon? into NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 17 and in helping get the first Forbidden Door pay-per-view between AEW and NJPW off the ground in 2022. NJPW has also worked with IMPACT/TNA Wrestling for Multiverse United, a similar concept to Forbidden Door. Last fall, MLW entered a working relationship with NJPW and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre that saw the latter stepping through the proverbial forbidden door.

"CMLL has always been known for not doing partnerships besides the New Japan partnership that they've had for many, many years," Romero pointed out to Comicbook.com in December. "Both companies are extremely loyal to each other. I reached out to CMLL and they floated the idea around and they liked having another partner, especially if New Japan was going to be linked and involved with it. I was able to get them all to meet over a Zoom call and they had a great conversation and that was the start. I think you're going to see a lot more CMLL talent coming to MLW very, very soon."

In his on-screen talent roles, Romero works for various companies, including NJPW, MLW, AEW, CMLL and ROH. He was recently defeated by Konosuke Takeshita of the Don Callis Family on AEW Rampage and he lost the MLW World Middleweight Title to Mistico at the end of February. Romero is an eight-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Romero will compete against AEW International Champion Roderick Strong on Battle of the Belts in an eliminator match in the hopes of earning a future title shot.

Stay tuned to Comicbook.com for updates on Romero and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

WWE has reportedly released tenured employee Sue Aitchison, according to PWInsider. She had been with the company since 1986, serving as the Director of Community Relations. During her time with the promotion, she was credited for building the relationship between WWE and Make-A-Wish and she helped launch the defunct WrestleMania Reading Challenge.

In 2019, Aitchison was bestowed the honor of the Warrior Award for that year's WWE Hall of Fame class, presented by Stephanie McMahon. McMahon said at the time, "Sue has dedicated her entire career to helping Wish kids fulfill their dreams and putting smiles on countless families faces. Her heart and character epitomize the essence of the Warrior Award. She is an unsung hero who deserves to be recognized and immortalized in the WWE Hall of Fame." She was honored with Make-A-Wish's Chris Greicius Award in both 2006 and 2016.

The shocking announcement comes at a time where both WWE and TKO are looking to get rid of the old WWE which Vince McMahon had his finger prints all over. As of February, Vince was under federal investigation following sex trafficking allegations brought forth by former employee Janel Grant. Over the last few months, WWE has really driven home the "Triple H era" of WWE, and that was clear more than ever during WrestleMania weekend. Stephanie made an appearance at the event and stated such herself. "Every WrestleMania is special for its own reason," Stephanie told the crowd on night two of WrestleMania 40. "But I think Wrestlemania 40 might be the one I am most proud of, because this is the first WrestleMania of the Paul Levesque era." The surprise marked Stephanie's first on-screen appearance since her resignation as co-CEO in January 2023 when her father Vince re-entered the picture.

WWE Sparks a New Era

The promotion is also looking to change up its on-screen presence with scaled back sets and a "less is more" approach with their augmented reality entrances. According to reports, those entrances, introduced in the Kevin Dunn era of WWE, will likely be saved for special events like PLE's. WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque spoke in high spirits at the WrestleMania press conference when discussing where the company is headed, crediting Lee Fitting for a lot of the recent production changes and noting that there is still more to come. Just this week, WWE released two other tenured members of the Talent Relations department, Dan Ventrelle who served as the WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Trent Wilfinger who was the company's Senior Vice President of Athlete ID & Development.

Stay tuned to Comicbook.com for updates on WWE.

Big E has been much more in the mix as of the past few months, whether that be in media appearances or as part of commentary, like he was at the WrestleMania 40 press conference, and fans couldn't be more thrilled to see him back on TV in a more prominent way. Fans would also love to see Big E make an in-ring return down the line, and while that could happen at some point, Big E's latest update on his neck and its recovery suggests that isn't in the cards at this time. He did reveal though that he is otherwise healthy and free of pain, and that's wonderful news.

Big E shared the details of his two-year neck scans on Twitter, writing, "Hey, all! Two year neck scans are in. Things are unchanged. My C1 has healed fibrously but has not formed new bone. I'm not medically cleared and truthfully, I may never be cleared. But I am blessed to be free of pain, immensely happy and otherwise healthy. Life is good."

Hey, all!
Two year neck scans are in. Things are unchanged. My C1 has healed fibrously but has not formed new bone. I'm not medically cleared and truthfully, I may never be cleared. But I am blessed to be free of pain, immensely happy and otherwise healthy. Life is good.

-- Ettore "Big E" Ewen (@WWEBigE) April 13, 2024

While he may never be cleared for in-ring action, Big E continues to be the same bombastic personality anytime he is on TV, and hopefully, he appears more frequently in those non-wrestling roles. Big E opened up a bit about the future and possible retirement in an interview with Ariel Helwani, revealing it is something he is considering just due to the stress and wear and tear his body has already gone through.

"I also think - I had this sobering moment where I was in the hospital, and I've been an athlete my whole life. And it's all I've known, and it's what I've loved, but when they asked me my medical history, the first 18 years of my life - completely fine. But since then, I tore my left ACL playing college football at Iowa, tore my right ACL almost a year to the day, I've torn my left pec, I've torn my right meniscus - sorry, left meniscus - broke my right patella. While wrestling, I've herniated discs in my lower back, had the herniated discs in my neck, and also now I have a broken neck in multiple places," Big E said.

"So, I've just put my body through a lot. I got hired at 23. When I was 23, you know, you just have a different perspective on life. And also I just had a lot of struggles with my mental health as well. I think - not that I had a death wish per se, but I think there was a time in my life that if I died in the ring? Cool. I got to do what I loved and I went out in the ring," Big E said.

"But now at 36, after working through a lot of those things, after being mentally healthier. Man, this job has allowed me to meet so many different people from so many walks of life and have so many different experiences, and now - I don't know, man. I think of life after 36, and I see so many of the guys I grew up watching in wrestling. I think too of the athletes that I love who participated in MMA, or were boxers and you see them at 50, and you see their body ravaged. And that's not the life that I want," Big E said.

"My hope is - I feel great now. And I'm grateful for that. But to keep miles and damage on my body? That's something I have to think about, and I feel like I have a lot more to live for now than I did years and years ago. Or at least now, I have a lot of things that I want to do in my life. So that's something that I'll have to think about. But again, I'm not gonna make any decisions any time soon. I have to weigh the damage that I've already done to my body," Big E said.

Uncle Howdy looks to be making a return to WWE TV soon, and fans are starting to see a number of teases on TV as well as through social media. Those teases have increased over the past week, with two more teases happening during this week's episode of WWE SmackDown. The first happened for those who were at the show live, as during a commercial break the video screens started flickering and going off and on to coincide with the moody music. Then those on TV got another tease during the Women's Tag Match, as a quick flicker of the screen revealed the words "you forgot about us".

The video flickering and music changes always prompt the crowd to pull out their phones to bring out the fireflies, and the TV teases have also started generating discussion on social media, just like they did when Bray Wyatt's return was being teased in the lead-up to the Extreme Rules. You can check out the post below and you can see the footage from Detroit's SmackDown here.

You forgot about US??

So more than 1 person. Is Uncle Howdy returning with Alexa Bliss??#smackdown pic.twitter.com/mmcmeYQS7p

-- Maverick (@OneTrueMav) April 13, 2024

The you forgot about us line is especially intriguing, as it would indicate more than one person. While Howdy has been the primary focus of the teases, there are plenty of theories that we could see the formation of the Wyatt 6, a faction that had been teased quite a bit during Wyatt's initial return to WWE. It never came to fruition on TV before his tragic passing, but if the idea is to bring some of the plans Wyatt didn't have a chance to get to into reality, the faction would certainly be towards the top of the list for fans.

Howdy is played by Taylor Rotunda, known previously in WWE as Bo Dallas, who introduced the character during Wyatt's second run with WWE. The character had already started making more appearances on TV, especially in the feud between Wyatt and LA Knight, which included a moment where Howdy dove from the top of a structure and smashed Knight through the floor at the Royal Rumble.

WWE recently released a documentary all about Wyatt, his family, and the impact he had on those who had the chance to know him and work with him. The documentary is titled Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal, and features a number of his biggest moments and the stories of how those came to be and about the man who had such a big impact on anyone he came in contact with. You can find the official description for Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal below.

"Bray Wyatt is one of the most revered and mysterious characters in WWE history. The story behind that character and the man himself, Windham Rotunda, has never been documented until now. Using never-before seen interviews and exclusive backstage footage, Windham Rotunda's inspiring story unfolds. This documentary chronicles Windham's incredible rise to worldwide fame as a WWE Superstar, and the struggles and success that came with being a creative visionary. Sadly, in August of 2023, Windham passed away at the age of 36. In the wake of his untimely death, Windham leaves behind a family still grieving with loss as they celebrate a lasting legacy that continues to create and inspire.

Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal is now streaming on Peacock.

It appears that WWE is set to make another big production change to its weekly television layout. Recently reports surfaced suggesting the sports giant will be using their smaller scale set that was shown during WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia. Now, a key piece of presentation for wrestlers will transition to use on special occasions.

PWInsider is reporting that WWE is scaling back their uses of augmented reality in wrestler entrances on weekly television. Instead, it will be saved for bigger entrances at PLE's. According to one source, last night's SmackDown is believed to be the last time it will be in regular rotation. WWE and TKO have already begun releasing some pretty integral members of staff over the last 24 hours as they look to cut back on the amount of staff and equipment that they haul in for shows (at least where lighting and production is concerned). Additionally, they are looking to scale back the number of production trucks they have at events.

During the WrestleMania 40 press conference, WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque noted some of the changes that have been shown on television and explained that there is still more to come. WWE put a major emphasis on this era of WWE being the "Triple H era" during WrestleMania weekend but according to Levesque, he's just a small part of a group of people bringing forth change and what we see now is just the tip of the iceberg.

Where the production changes are concerned have been credited to Lee Fitting who stepped into a new role as the lead of media and production in January. "We've made a conscious decision together Lee, Nick [Khan] and myself to slowly roll out some of those changes over time. There's a lot more coming, but when I tell you Lee Fitting, that I love working with him. He has a passion for this just like we do. Might be new here, but he's all in."

Levesque added, "He's the kind of guy that I want to go to work for. I want to do stuff to make his job easier. I want to collaborate with him and I want to make things better with him. So I can't say enough good stuff about him. A lot of the change that you see a lot of the success that you're seeing comes from Lee Fitting."

What do you think about the adjustments? Do you like the larger scale production sets? Let us know in the comments.

Kenny Omega is opening up about his side of the "Brawl Out" fiasco between CM Punk and The Elite that followed the All Out pay-per-view in 2022. Omega took to his Twitch channel this week, getting candid about the situation and how he feels about Punk now. He also explained that he felt his duty as an EVP at the time was to help de-escalate the situation, but in 2024, he feels "undeserving" of the EVP title.

"I thought my duty as EVP during 'Brawl Out' would be to enter the situation while there was chaos, de-escalate it, and create a peaceful environment for everyone," he said, noting that he was able to at least get Punk's dog Larry out of the crossfire if nothing else, which he believed to be important because he views pets like family.

"Unfortunately, try as I may, things were too chaotic for me to be able to do anything by my own power ... I also thought of myself as a liability because ... I just played a lot of contact sports and I've gotten into jiu-jitsu and boxing and mixed martial arts ... When you're in an environment like that, sometimes emotions get the best of you and people will wanna throw hands. I am unfortunately - or fortunately - a believer of it ... I'm actually a believer of fighting. I am, and that sounds terrible to say which is why, like, don't make me an EVP in 2024. We can't do that stuff anymore. I just feel that sometimes that's how you have to settle things."

Omega added that there have been situations in his career where he believes a disagreement could have benefitted from a scrap, that in a contained scenario it can be "conducive for a positive work environment." On his end, he doesn't feel that he and Punk have issues with each other, and that if it wasn't for another factor, they probably could have resolved their issues that night.

"We were never bad. Honestly, if it wasn't for a complete other factor, we would have been able to have that talk on the night of 'Brawl Out'. There's no issue between him and I, as far as I know ... I don't wanna seem stand off-ish or secretive about what happened. Yes, there's legalities and all that stuff, but even if there wasn't ... I'm actually not a huge fan of pulling back the curtain on stuff that doesn't need to be public."

CM Punk was fired from AEW ahead of All Out 2023 after an altercation at AEW All In between himself and Jack Perry. AEW recently shared some of that CCTV footage live on Dynamite to help further the storyline between the Young Bucks and FTR. Punk returned to WWE at Survivor Series in November and has been heavily involved in storylines with Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. Though he's currently out injured from the Royal Rumble, he's well on his way in recovery, attacking McIntyre at WrestleMania.

The main event of tonight's WWE SmackDown was to decide who would face LA Knight in a number 1 contender's match, which will then decide who faces Cody Rhodes for his newly won Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Knight secured his spot in the match earlier in the night by pinning Santos Escobar in a Triple Threat match that also involved Bobby Lashley, and now it was time for the second Triple Threat match between Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, and Rey Mysterio. At one point it looked as if Owens would seal the deal after a massive German suplex, but it would be Styles taking the win after hitting Mysterio with a Styles Clash from the top rope. Styles moves on to face Knight for the chance to take on Rhodes, and that match will happen next week.

All three exchanged strikes at the start of the match, though Styles ended up on the bad side of it, getting knocked to the floor. Mysterio went for the 619 but Styles countered and then planted Owens with a slam before going for the pin, but Owens kicked out. Styles got Owens up top but Mysterio interfered, only to end up getting slammed to the mat with a Superplex by Owens.

???@RealLAKnight takes on @AJStylesOrg NEXT WEEK in a #WrestleMania rematch with the winner heading to #WWEBacklash to face @CodyRhodes!!!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/VBVBvxPnHu

-- WWE (@WWE) April 13, 2024

Owens went for the pin but Styles broke it up at the last minute. Owens caught Styles with a superkick but then got hit with a Pele kick from Styles, and then Mysterio came crashing in out of nowhere. Then Owens knocked Mysterio and Styles down with a huge German suplex that landed everyone on the mat for a minute.

Owens hit a huge Stunner and then went for the Swanton but Styles caught him and went up top. Mysterio caught Styles, but Styles hit Mysterio with the Styles Clash from the top, and that was enough to keep Mysterio down for the pin and the win. Styles moves to the next round and will face LA Knight in the match to decide who will challenge Rhodes for the Title.

This will be a rematch of Styles and Knight's battle at WrestleMania 40, and though that rivalry is relatively new, it didn't take long to pick up steam. The two superstars ended up even brawling outside of Styles' house, which led to Knight getting arrested, and this all started when Styles attacked Knight shortly after his return to SmackDown.

Aside from the home brawl, there were other memorable moments along the way, including when Knight dressed up as a member of the arena's security to surprise attack Styles during a previous episode of SmackDown. That led to a match at WrestleMania 40, and after a physical battle, it was Knight who picked up the win.

Now they will face each other once again, but this time a shot at the WWE Championship hangs in the balance. After Styles walked away with the win, Knight came to confront him in the ring, and it's clearly evident that there's still all sorts of bad blood between the two superstars. They will face each other next week, and whoever wins will earn the chance to face Rhodes for his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Backlash.

What did you think of the match, and who will move on to challenge Cody Rhodes? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

On WWE SmackDown, the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes opened the show and gave a promo during which he addressed what The Rock handed to him on WWE Raw this week. After winning the championship from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, Rock confronted Rhodes on the Raw after Mania and asked to switch championships, a bit of a call back to Rhodes doing the same to him a decade ago. At that time, Rhodes wanted to "take a look" at the title that for the next 13 years won't be synonymous with The Rock, but Rhodes instead.

"I can tell you when The Rock was in here the air got a little...colder. The mood certainly changed. He placed an item in my hand, I instantly knew what it was. It was a wartime overture if you will. Something that I had gifted to The Rock. It was uncomfortable. It was awkward. But I believe The Rock when he said he was going off to Hollywood and I believed him even more when he said that he would be coming back here, and when he did he would be looking for me. Well Rock, you do not have to look very far, I will be standing right here."

In the promo on SmackDown, he also gave a nod to his wife Brandi Rhodes who once delivered a very meme-able line: "Who the hell told you it was open mic night, b--ch?" When Brandi and Cody were still in AEW, Brandi cut the iconic promo against Jade Cargill who is also now signed with WWE.

This is a different #CodyRhodes ?#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/wTITdk7JIc

-- WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) April 13, 2024

Before concluding, Rhodes addressed his six potential competitors who will vie for a shot at the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WWE Backlash in France, letting them know that "you best not miss."

Back in September of last year, Brandi spoke to Ring The Belle about many moments in her career, including the memorable promo on Cargill and how it came to be. "It's a very fun segment (open mic night with Jade Cargill) for the simple fact that there was not much thought that went into it," Brandi explained. "It was literally just, Tony (Khan) asked me, 'Can you cut a promo on Jade?' I said, 'Sure. Why not? That's fun' and he said, 'Have you seen the Curb Your Enthusiasm where Vivica Fox runs up on the neighbor lady?' What's her name? But it's the neighbor character in Curb Your Enthusiasm that's always coming after Larry and she's always cursing him out and all this stuff and she's like, 'Larry!' Blah, blah, blah, blah and then Vivica steps in front and goes, 'Who the hell are you? You're not gonna talk to my man like that' and just runs her down and saying all this stuff so, he says, 'You know that scene?' I said, 'Yeah, of course.' He goes, 'Can you do something like that?' I was like, 'I got it' and that was pretty much it. Yeah, that was pretty much it. It was just like, alright. Well now what am I gonna say? Okay, okay. So yeah, talked to Jade and I said, 'I'm gonna say heifer. Is that okay?' And she was like, 'Heifer?' I was like, 'Yeah, it works. You're not a heifer. So it works. You're like the furthest thing from a heifer so like, just let me say it.' 'Okay,' and then it was what it was."

Bayley delivered an unforgettable moment at WrestleMania 40, taking down her former friend turned nemesis Iyo Sky and becoming the new WWE Women's Champion. It was a storybook moment in many ways, and the celebration continued to tonight's WWE SmackDown, where Bayley received "you deserve it" chants when she hit the ring. She also revealed who she wants her next challenger to be, but there's someone else in the picture that may end up being her longer-term feud, and the two at the center of all this are Naomi and Tiffany Stratton.

Bayley came out to a huge reception from the crowd, and the Champion took a minute to soak it all in. After the warm reception, it was time to get down to business, and Bayley said that it was also time to give out a new opportunity. She didn't get much further though, as Stratton came out and interrupted.

Forget Tiffy Time, it's Naomi's Time!@TheTrinity_Fatu is taking it to @tiffstrattonwwe ?#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/mcM9ddZ5xz

-- WWE (@WWE) April 13, 2024

Stratton had an issue with not being given an opportunity at WrestleMania, but she's made her peace with that. Stratton then said that since Bayley was working her way to an open challenge, she would happily accept, adding that it was indeed Tiffy Time. Bayley laughed and said it was nice to meet her, but that she wasn't going to give an open challenge.

Bayley said she already had someone in mind, and it was someone who made a big return to WWE not all that long ago. That person ended up being Naomi, but Tiffany wasn't sold on the idea. Stratton said that Naomi couldn't find a Championship opportunity if it glowed in the dark, and Naomi wasn't about to let that insult slide.

Naomi came out and got in Stratton's face, saying that she had earned everything she received in WWE and wasn't planning on stopping now. Naomi then told Bayley that she couldn't accept her challenge just yet, as she needed to teach Tiffany a lesson. The two would then have a match one-on-one, and Naomi was clearly on a mission.

While Stratton came close, it was Naomi walking away with the win, and that also meant that Naomi had secured a shot at Bayley's WWE Women's Championship. That match will happen on next week's SmackDown, though there's also the potential involvement of Stratton, as the feud between Stratton and Bayley seems like it is only getting started.

Stratton vs Bayley was always going to be a potential standout feud, and it seems WWE is already planting the seeds of a rivalry. It wouldn't be surprising to see Stratton get involved in the match between Naomi and Bayley, and perhaps that leads to a Triple Threat between all three down the line.

Are you excited for Bayley vs Naomi? Let us know in the comments and you can talk wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

The Bloodline took a major loss at WrestleMania 40, as Cody Rhodes finally dethroned Roman Reigns as the WWE Champion. Rhodes had some help in making that happen of course, with John Cena and The Undertaker lending a hand to even the odds, and it would end with The Bloodline no longer holding Championship gold by the end. The first step to retribution started on tonight's SmackDown for the faction, and that meant some change was needed. Solo Sikoa led the charge on that by not just attacking Jimmy Uso and kicking him out of the group, but bringing a new member to the faction, which would end up being free agent signing Tama Tonga.

Paul Heyman would address the loss at WrestleMania 40, saying that they weren't making excuses, and that Roman's focus on Seth Rollins would end up costing him the Championship. A new era was about to begin though, but before Heyman could get anything else out, Sikoa took the microphone from Heyman and had some thoughts to share of his own.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!

Jimmy Uso just got taken out by...TAMA TONGA?!?#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/BP2uHOhXPN

-- WWE (@WWE) April 13, 2024

Sikoa echoed Heyman's words from earlier in the night, saying that losses had consequences. He asked Heyman if that was the case and Heyman agreed, which led to Sikoa saying that if that was true, that meant there needed to be change. He glared at JImmy and Jimmy fought back, but then Sikoa hugged him.

Unfortunately, that was the last good thing that happened for Jimmy, as a hooded figure jumped in the ring and attacked Jimmy right after. The hooded figure continued to attack and stomp on Jimmy for a minute and then stood up and pulled the hoodie down to reveal his identity, and it was the heavily rumored free agent Tama Tonga. Heyman looked shocked at everything that was happening, and he didn't love what would happen next either.

Sikoa put a chair around Jimmy's neck and then told him "I love you" before charging up and slamming him into the turnbuckle. Tonga held up the 1 and then Sikoa went over to Heyman, who cowered in fear in the corner. Sikoa pulled him over to join them, but when Heyman went to call Reigns, Sikoa knocked the phone out of his hand and stomped on it.

Sikoa seems to be teeing up to take control of his faction, and Heyman has made it clear that this isn't what Reigns had in mind. We'll have to wait and see what the Tribal Chief has to say about all this when he does make his return to TV, and this also isn't the only rumored Bloodline addition happening, so things are only going to get more interesting.

What did you think of Tonga's WWE debut? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

A former multi-time WWE champion is set to make his big return to WWE programming imminently. On WWE Raw this week a vignette teasing the return of Sheamus played with a view of his chest and his Celtic Cross pendant. At the time, there was no clear indication as to when The Celtic Warrior would be coming back. However that all changed on SmackDown when WWE confirmed that he will be back on next Monday's WWE Raw.

He's back, FELLA. ? pic.twitter.com/fdnPJavDwq

-- WWE (@WWE) April 9, 2024

Sheamus has been off television since last August when he faced Edge in his final WWE match. In September, Reports emerged that he was dealing with a "really bad" shoulder injury and there was talk about him returning sometime in November, but that did not come to fruition. Recently, fans noticed that his X (formerly Twitter) account was wiped completely, leading to speculation that he may be on his way out of the company. But that was of course put to rest when the vignette aired on Raw.

Speaking in an interview in January, Sheamus outlined the remaining goals he has in WWE, including main eventing WrestleMania. "The IC Title," Sheamus told Virgin Media Sports Stories. "That's it. I want to main event WrestleMania too. I want to main event WrestleMania. That's another one. The IC Title and main event WrestleMania are the two things I want to do. I should have main evented WrestleMania last year or this year [2023]. It should have gone on last. It stole the show at WrestleMania. Nothing came close, match-wise, the match me, Gunther, and Drew had. I knew that was always going to be the case. I was so close [winning the title] at Mania, and it just got taken away from me."

For all of the years that he's been with WWE and all the championships he's obtained, the Intercontinental Championship is one that has eluded him for his entire career. He's challenged for it many times, including at last year's WrestleMania where Gunther defended against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. Many fans believed that to be the match of the weekend, despite it being nowhere close to the main event spot of WrestleMania Sunday which was held by Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. The last time that Sheamus held gold in WWE was back in 2021 as the United States Champion, his third overall reign in his career. He lost the belt to Damian Priest at SummerSlam 2021.

Are you excited to see Sheamus return? Let us know in the comments!

H/T: WrestlingNews.co

Cody Rhodes is now the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, and the Champ needs his next opponent. The road to deciding that opponent started during tonight's WWE SmackDown with the first of two Triple Threat matches, and up first was the trio of LA Knight, Bobby Lashley, and Santos Escobar. Escobar tried to stack the odds in his favor by taking advantage of the no-disqualification rules, calling on the rest of Legado Del Fantasma for help. Lashley would call upon The Pride to balance the scales, but it would actually end up being Knight who took advantage of the chaos and got the winning pin, pinning Escobar and moving on to the next round.

Escobar ran right at Knight but got put out of the ring quickly by Knight and Lashley. Knight and Lashley went at each other but Lashley soon threw Escobar over the rope, only to get dragged outside by Knight, and Escobar knocked both down to the floor shortly after.

Not so fast!

Legado del Fantasma tried to take over, but The #StreetProfits & @TheVibeBri had other ideas ?#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/6wrDFqCeaT

-- WWE (@WWE) April 13, 2024

Lashley had taken control of the match after a return from a commercial break, and had Escobar up on the turnbuckle in a precarious position. Escobar fought him off and knocked him down, but Knight took the spot right after, only for Lashley to slam both down to the mat. Knight knocked Lashley down and went for the cover, but Escobar broke it up.

Escobar knocked Lashley down and went at Knight with double knees, but Knight hit a power slam and an elbow drop to get things back on track. Legato Del Fantasma attacked Knight and slammed him down with a Triple Powerbomb, which was all legal due to the No DQ. Lashley was in but the numbers game got him too, with Humberto and Angel stomping on him and keeping him down. The Street Profits came in for the save and ran off Angel and Humberto, and B-Fab clocked Elektra Lopez as well.

Escobar went for the pin but Lashley hit a Flatliner and set up for a spear, only to slam into the ring post. Knight hit the BFT on Escobar and got the pin, moving on to the next round.

What did you think of the match and who do you think will eventually face Rhodes? Let us know in the comments and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

Another WrestleMania is in the books, and after a well-received episode of Monday Night Raw, SmackDown is now up to bat. WWE will have big appearances from two of its new Champions in Cody Rhodes and Bayley, but it will also start the process of lining up a number-one contender through two Triple Threat matches. WWE SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis took to social media to announce two Triple Threat matches for tonight's show, with the fist match featuring Santos Escobar, LA Knight, and Bobby Lashley. The second match will feature Rey Mysterio, Kevin Owens, and AJ Styles, and that's the first step to deciding who will eventually face Rhodes.

The two winners of the matches will then face each other on next week's SmackDown, and whoever is left standing will then move on to battle Rhodes in a match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. That match will likely take place at Backlash, which is happening on May 4th in Lyon-Decines, France. You can find Aldis' full description of tonight's matches below.

#SmackDown General Manager @RealNickAldis has some BREAKING NEWS for #SmackDown tonight!

Get ready for two huge Triple Threat Matches to determine who will square off one-on-one next week with the winner going on to face the new WWE Champion @CodyRhodes!

8/7c FOX pic.twitter.com/HhGrASWu98

-- WWE (@WWE) April 12, 2024

"SmackDown is live and sold out tonight from Detroit Michigan, the Motor City, and we have two huge Triple Threat matches," Aldis said. "The first, Santos Escobar, Bobby Lashley, and LA Knight. The second, Rey Mysterio, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens. The winners of those matches will face each other next week, and the winner of that match...well they take on the new WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, who is in the hizzy tonight for SmackDown. Yes, he will be here live and in person, and the brand new Women's Champion Bayley will also be here tonight live 8/7 Central only on FOX. It's a new era."

You could see this going a number of ways, as there are two ongoing rivalries baked into these two Triple Threats. Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar have been at odds since Santos turned on Mysterio and The LWO, and they fought at WrestleMania 40 as well in a Tag Team match. The other rivalry also took place at WrestleMania, that being AJ Styles vs LA Knight, and this could be a way to tee up a rematch between the two.

Bobby Lashley and Kevin Owens are two superstars who you could easily see facing Rhodes in a Championship main event as well, so perhaps those other rivalries will lead to Lashley or Owens moving on to the next round. We'll have to wait and see, and there's always the potential for WWE to throw a curveball and add someone to the lineup last minute too.

Speaking of Rhodes, he had a monumental moment at WrestleMania 40, finishing the story and defeating Roman Reigns. In an interview with TODAY, Rhodes was asked now that the final chapter has been written in that story, what's next? "I had said on "SmackDown," I said when one good story ends, an even better one begins. And I think that's where I'm at with it, is we did finish the story. The story of a Rhodes wanting to capture this championship that (Dusty) never did, we got that. Now the fun really needs to begin," Rhodes said.

"The legacy of my dad and the specter, the kind of a ghost always chasing the accolades and the impact that Dusty Rhodes had, that'll always be there. But now I got this one up on him and I need to - for all the new fans we have, you know, you look out in the crowd and you see all the cosplay, kids who look at me in a really special way. And for them I want to give them just an unbelievable run," Rhodes said.

"So brand-new story, hopefully brand-new opponents, hopefully on both shows. I'm good to be tested. You know, we didn't get that with Roman, and I don't want to take away the specialness of the title by any means, but I do want to be far more active. Plus, I do the live events, which is not a throwaway thing. I do the live events, which is the heartbeat of WWE, these smaller, non-TV production shows. And to be able to bring that on them when it's been absent this whole time, that's special," Rhodes said.

Who do you want to see take on Rhodes for the Title? Let us know in the comments and you can talk wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

Although CM Punk is currently out injured, it's not stopping him from making appearances in WWE. Most recently, Punk joined the commentary team at WrestleMania 40 for the World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. Following the match, McIntyre teased Punk which led the injured star to attack the newly crowned champion and show that he's well on his way in recovery. McIntyre would lose the title shortly after due to Damian Priest cashing in his MITB briefcase.

Punk's next two appearances have been confirmed as he will be at both nights of the WWE Draft. The first night takes place at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio on Friday, April 26 while the second night will emanate from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri on Monday, April 29. WWE announced that this year's draft during the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania. Every year, Raw and SmackDown make their bids to pull together the greatest rosters possible. Though it's unclear which stars will be eligible for the draft, NXT could play a major part in this round of picks. A teaser promoting the Draft notes "After all the work, and all the miles, all the sign-filled shows, and sold-out seats... Now, it's all about to change."

BREAKING: @CMPunk will appear LIVE during both nights of the #WWEDraft! Tickets available now!

? CINCINNATI 4/26
?: https://t.co/Td7SdSwqJd

? KANSAS CITY 4/29
?: https://t.co/Gz0tv3huDe pic.twitter.com/MoMto1QrJ0

-- WWE (@WWE) April 12, 2024

The Triple H Era

Something that has been touted a lot over the last week is how WWE is now in the "Triple H era." As the company tries to shy away from the ugly underbelly of the last few years with the Vince McMahon allegations, WWE moves forward in the only way it knows how: with record-setting numbers. Whether that's for live events, PLE's. merchandise, key signings and call ups like CM Punk, Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton, Naomi, and Bron Breakker among others, WWE is in one of its most fruitful eras ever.

Just this past weekend WWE held the landmark 40th edition of WrestleMania which set multiple records for the company, including a 78% increase in the gate from WrestleMania 39. Per WWE, there were 145,298 in attendance across both nights of this year's event. They also noted viewership was up 41% versus last year. In terms of social interaction, WrestleMania 40 became the most socially viewed WrestleMania of all-time, with over 660 million views consumed over the two days. WWE's YouTube channel saw its most-viewed day in channel history on WrestleMania 40 Sunday with more than 67 million views in 24 hours.

Fresh off of a hugely successful WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia for both the city and WWE, a midwestern state is looking to make a bid for one of the "Big Four" PLE's.

Last summer Detroit hosted the city's very first SummerSlam event and the first WWE PLE since 2017's Hell In A Cell. This summer, Cleveland, Ohio will host SummerSlam from the Cleveland Browns Stadium, the first PLE in the city since Fastlane 2019. With the way WWE is conquering some of the largest midwestern wrestling markets, Milwaukee, Wisconsin has made it clear that they want to host a future Royal Rumble.

The wrestling market in Wisconsin is largely untapped, but WWE has hosted PLE's there in the past, including Fastlane 2017, Elimination Chamber 2012, WWF No Way Out 2002, WWF King Of The Ring 1996, and WWF In Your House 22: Over The Edge 1998. According to CBS 58, a local station in Wisconsin, state officials will pitch it to the company once the American Family Field ballpark is winterized after the 2025 baseball season. Mayor Cavalier Johnson took to his X account earlier this week to tout the success of the ballpark for concerts, ranking 19th for the top-grossing stadium for concerts in the United States and 35th in the world. "This will help to drive more concerts, attention, vibrancy, and development here. I wouldn't be surprised if WWE found interest here too," Mayor Johnson wrote.

In 2024 alone WWE has several wrestling markets all over the world on its schedule, one of which was wildly successful for the sports giant -- Australia for Elimination Chamber. WWE will also travel to France for WWE Backlash, Saudi Arabia for King and Queen of the Ring, Scotland for Clash at the Castle, and Germany for the return of Bash in Berlin.

Where Will WrestleMania 41 Take Place?

Additionally, the location of the next year's WrestleMania event is usually locked in by now and announced to fans, but that isn't the case this year. Minnesota is fighting hard for it, though, as leaks going all the way back to the spring of 2023 suggest it has been a frontrunner for quite some time. At a recent event announcing the state's new tourism campaign, Governor Tim Walz made it clear that Minnesota is the place to be no matter if it's for wrestling, gymnastics, or hockey. "No one is more excited about WrestleMania than me," Lt. Gov. Flanagan said. "It is a great example of the variety of opportunities here in Minnesota. And as your governor said, we are humble people, but now it's time to brag."

What do you think about the Royal Rumble heading back to the midwest and taking place in Wisconsin? Let us know in the comments!

What becomes of The Bloodline after WWE WrestleMania 40? For the first time in the familial faction's history, The Bloodline is without a single championship, as Roman Reigns lost the Undisputed WWE Universal Title to Cody Rhodes to close out the weekend. Prior to that, Jimmy Uso fell to brother Jey Uso on WWE WrestleMania 40 Night 1. Less than 24 hours after these defeats transpired, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson announced that he had to "go away for a little while." While there is no indication that WWE WrestleMania 40 marks the end of The Bloodline, the once dominant band will need to significantly regroup if it wants to reclaim its status atop WWE.

The New Bloodline Debuting on WWE SmackDown?

New blood could be coming to The Bloodline.

As reported by PWInsider, rumored WWE signing Tama Tonga has been spotted in Detroit, MI ahead of tonight's WWE SmackDown. While Tama does not have a blood relation to the Anoa'i family tree, his uncle and adoptive father Haku is close enough to the Anoa'is that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson refers to him as "Uncle Tonga." This connection could lay the foundation for Tama to weave his way into The Bloodline.

Tama has spent just about his entire career in New Japan Pro Wrestling, making a name for himself in Bullet Club. He is a four-time NEVER Openweight Champion and captured IWGP tag team gold alongside brother Tanga Loa on seven occasions. At 41 years old, it is likely that Tama would be hot-shotted straight to the main roster should he join WWE.

While Tama has been the only new name sighted, he might not come alone. This past weekend, reports circulated that Jacob Fatu had inked a deal with WWE. Unlike Tama, Fatu is a direct member of The Bloodline. His name was even featured on The Bloodline family tree graphic that The Rock presented at WWE WrestleMania 40 Kickoff earlier this year. Nicknamed "The Samoan Werewolf," Fatu cut his teeth in Major League Wrestling where he is a one-time MLW World Heavyweight Champion. He held that prize for a record-breaking 819 days.

With Reigns expected to take significant time off and The Bloodline feeling relatively directionless following WWE WrestleMania 40, bringing Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu into the fold would give the group an immediate fresh coat of paint going into the summer. Beyond that, WWE could tease that both men were sent by The Bloodline's elders, not Reigns, furthering the idea that Reigns will be excommunicated from his own family when he returns.

WWE SmackDown goes down tonight at 8 PM ET on FOX.

On Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour last week, CM Punk made an appearance to discuss his groundbreaking WWE return, his time in AEW, his side of the story about his release, and more. After the comments surfaced, AEW Dynamite aired the very next day and instead of shying away from the criticisms thrown their way, AEW leaned into them. In one such instance, Adam Copeland, a veteran in the locker room, cut an equally passionate and fiery promo addressing the negativity. The timing of the promo certainly doesn't seem coincidental, and Copeland has opened up about why he chose to do it in a new interview.

When asked whether or not he saw Punk's full interview, Copeland noted he saw clips and that he has better things to do. "I didn't, no. I just saw clips. I have better things to do. I really do. I have kids. I don't really care what anybody really has to say," Copeland explained on CHEK VANCOLOUR. "However, what I will say is, from the small clips, I realized that our locker room needed a good message. So, last week I went out and spoke to that. It's a young locker room, and it's a young locker room that, for me, because it's a different time, we try to support each other. I came in to locker rooms where it was everybody for themselves and it was a bunch of great whites. I never subscribed to that. I always subscribed to the Bret Hart school of, 'You can help.' You can help young people and try and be positive and show that you don't have to be a dick. I don't know how else to put it. For me, I try to focus on the positives. There are so many negatives in the world today. They are both there to find. Why not look for the positives? For me, our young locker room needed to hear the positives. That's why I went out and did what I did last week. I don't need to search out the other stuff. I have better things to do, I have kids to put to bed. I have the Maple Leafs to watch."

In a recent interview with Comicbook.com, AEW President Tony Khan reflected on Copeland's promo and how the creative came together. "We talked on the phone that week and I had mentioned I'd love to feature him," Khan said. "He said, 'I'd love to do a promo on this show.' He came to me during the week before the show, a few days before the show and said that he had some things he wanted to say. He mentioned what he was thinking and I thought it was a great idea. I was really honored that he feels that way about AEW and that he's so happy here. Given Adam Copeland's stature in wrestling and his experience, I thought that it was a great idea."

What did you think of Copeland's AEW Dynamite promo? Let us know in the comments.

H/T: Fightful

WWE's corporate shakeups continue as the TKO era evolves. This past September, WWE's sale to Endeavor was finalized, as the parent company officially merged WWE with its other combat sports asset, UFC, to form TKO, one large publicly-traded conglomerate. While WWE and UFC have continued to operate as exclusive entities in their on-screen products, the two now share a corporate structure. Consequently, a number of roles within the offices had become duplicates, leading WWE and UFC to lay off dozens of employees as a result. Not all of these restructurings are a direct byproduct of the merger, but the TKO era as a whole has prompted WWE to reassess a number of divisions.

WWE Restructures Talent Relations Department

WWE has shifted around one of its key branches.

As reported by PWInsider, WWE has released Dan Ventrelle and Trent Wilfinger. Ventrelle served as WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations. Wilfinger was the company's Senior Vice President of Athlete ID & Development. Both men worked closely with WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque.

Following these departments, WWE President Nick Khan wrote a memo to employees that notified them of how the Talent Relations department will be restructured.

"WWE has begun the process of reorganizing its Talent Relations group. Moving forward, Chris Legentil, in addition to his role in Comms, will help us in leading this new group. Matt Altman, in addition to his role in Marketing, will be working closely with Chris to help in this endeavor," the memo reads. "Talent Development and Recruiting will now report into Shawn Michaels. All of Talent, which includes Talent Relations, Development and Recruiting, will continue to ultimately report into Paul Levesque. As of today, Dan Ventrelle will be moving on from WWE. We thank Dan for his tremendous contributions."

Legentil runs WWE's communications department. He joined WWE in 2021 at the recommendation of Khan himself. Altman is a longtime WWE employee, rising from PR to Head of Marketing over his tenure.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on WWE's corporate shakeups.

This summer TNA Wrestling will return to Chicago for its Against All Odds PLE live from the Cicero Stadium. They will have two nights of back-to-back action on Friday and Saturday, June 14-15. Chicago's own and the current reigning X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali is scheduled to appear on the shows alongside Josh Alexander, Brian Myers, KUSHIDA, Eric Young, Frankie Kazarian, Moose and Jordynne Grace. Plus, the Chicago shows will feature ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey), Digital Media Champion Crazzy Steve, Ash By Elegance, Eddie Edwards, Jake Something, Joe Hendry, "Speedball" Mike Bailey, PCO, Xia Brookside and many more.

Tickets for both Chicago shows go on-sale Saturday, April 20 at 10 a.m. EST at TNAWrestling.com but for those that can't make it out to see the show live, Against All Odds will stream on TNA+ for subscribers. The official match card will be announced in late May but TNA promises that at the very least, the TNA Knockouts World Champion and the TNA World Champion will be part of the show.

The last time that TNA made the rounds in the Chicago surrounding area was for a number of shows for Bound For Glory last October. On that PLE, ABC defeated The Rascalz to become two-time TNA/IMPACT World Tag Team Champions and Jordynne Grace won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet to secure a future title shot which she cashed in at Hard To Kill in January against Trinity.

In the meantime, TNA will host its yearly Rebellion PLE live from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas the weekend of April 20. That card features Moose defending the TNA World Championship against Nic Nemeth, Grace defending against Steph De Lander, Josh Alexander and Alex Hammerstone in a Last Man Standing match, Ali vs. Jake Something for the X-Division Championship, Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers vs. Speedball Mountain for the TNA World Tag Team Championships, and more. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

Stay tuned to Comicbook.com for updates on TNA Against All Odds.

At the end of 2023 a clip of WWE Hall of Famer and Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle went viral on social media and was turned into a reaction meme. It's a short clip of him with the 1000-yard stare but it was enough for wrestling fans and non wrestling fans to get in on the jokes. At the time, Angle didn't understand why exactly it was going viral and he initially perceived it as fans making fun of him. Eventually, he accepted that he was the butt of the joke.

Now Angle is reflecting on the whole ordeal including his initial thoughts on becoming a meme. "I was pissed at first. I was like, 'Why are they making fun of me?' Paul Bromwell, my co-host on The Kurt Angle Show, was like, 'Kurt they're not making fun of it. This is actually a good thing.'"

Angle was able to capitalize on the venture and make some money off of it by selling signed photos on his website. "I was like, 'it seems like everyone is making fun of me.' 'No, the look on your face was funny and they're using it for memes.' 'Well, I might as well sell photos.' I started doing it and thank you everyone who bought a meme photo because I made a substantial amount of money doing it," Angle revealed on Wrestling Life With Ben Veal. "It was worth being the meme of the year. I guess I won an award for meme of the year already. It gave me good exposure. There people who don't even know who I am that know who I am now because of it. I trended worldwide. I'm getting people ordering the photo from all different parts of the world. It's crazy. This meme photo took on a life of its own and I tried to capitalize on it. I did, thank God. I think anybody would have done the same. I had fun with it."

Angle retired from active in-ring competition back in 2019 following a match with Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35. He's been candid about his many surgeries just to improve his quality of life so that he can be a present father for his children. While he likely won't ever get back into a wrestling ring, Angle has many other business ventures including his podcast The Kurt Angle Show.

What are your thoughts on the viral Kurt Angle meme? Let us know in the comments.

H/T: Fightful

WWE has been teasing the return of Uncle Howdy over the past few weeks, beginning with the first tease at the end of the Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal documentary. Since then more teases have followed on social media and during Monday Night Raw, and the latest tease is courtesy of WWE's Twitter account. Earlier today the WWE account posted a tweet that just said "hello" numerous times. The tweet was deleted later, but it gained plenty of attention beforehand and seems to be indicating that Howdy will be making his return sooner than later. You can find the post below.

Howdy is played by Taylor Rotunda, known previously in WWE as Bo Dallas, who introduced the character during Wyatt's second run with WWE. The character had already started making more appearances on TV, especially in the feud between Wyatt and LA Knight. Any plans were obviously put on hold after Wyatt's tragic passing, but now it seems WWE is finally ready to bring the character back to TV.

Uncle Howdy is back ?? pic.twitter.com/HPBVlBgWgm

-- ?cody legend? (@Cody20056) April 11, 2024

Taylor and Mika Rotunda paid tribute to Wyatt during the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, which was part of the induction of Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham. At the close of their speech, Mike said, "I wish that our son Windham could have been here, he would have liked to see his old man go in the Hall of Fame." Then they lifted their phones and led a tribute to Windham along with the rest of the arena.

The documentary featured a host of tributes to Rotunda and stories from those who had the chance to work with him over the years. Erick Rowan is someone who worked alongside Windham during their time as The Wyatt Family, and Rowan shared a tribute to his late friend on social media. On Twitter, Rowan wrote, "Writing this down makes my soul foggy and my heart ache. Over 12 years ago from the island of FCW we would talk of our mutual love of horror movies and music before embarking on this crazy journey that brought us around the world with Jon.

In the process something happened, this family we portrayed weekly in the wrestling world became a real life bond. We spent more time together over the next few years than we would our own families. Strengthening our bond as we dealt with life trials and tribulations together. Eventually this family grew with the introduction of Adam. As did our love for one another.

Life is sometimes unfair, I want to pick up the phone and talk to my brothers. For when I think of Windham It makes me think of Jon then the reality of the crazy truth that they are no longer with us. Though I know they are always listening and smiling. With their sudden passings I can not state enough how much they loved their families. My heart hurts for their kids, for Jojo for Amanda for their brothers and sisters or anyone lucky enough to call them a friend. I love you both so much. This is only Goodbye for Now, I will see you down the road."

You can find the official description for Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal below.

"Bray Wyatt is one of the most revered and mysterious characters in WWE history. The story behind that character and the man himself, Windham Rotunda, has never been documented until now. Using never-before seen interviews and exclusive backstage footage, Windham Rotunda's inspiring story unfolds. This documentary chronicles Windham's incredible rise to worldwide fame as a WWE Superstar, and the struggles and success that came with being a creative visionary. Sadly, in August of 2023, Windham passed away at the age of 36. In the wake of his untimely death, Windham leaves behind a family still grieving with loss as they celebrate a lasting legacy that continues to create and inspire.

Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal is now streaming on Peacock.

Julia Hart, the current TBS Champion, may be facing some injury time following her match on AEW Rampage this week according to The Wrestling Observer and PWInsider. The show was taped as usual following Dynamite and it saw Hart go up against Leyla Hirsch. Heading into the match, Hart had her shoulder taped.

During the match, she was said to have taken a particularly hard fall and when she rolled back into the ring, she went to the turnbuckles. There, she was seen speaking with the referee and the match wrapped up shortly after that. Those in attendance noted that Hart was helped to the back after the match.

It's worth noting that Hart just returned from an undisclosed injury at Revolution after being absent for a number of weeks. If Hart is in fact back on the injured list, She would join other top AEW stars, including Kenny Omega is out after battling a severe case of diverticulitis in December, Adam Cole is still healing his broken ankle, former Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter has been out nearly a year fixing her shoulder, Bandido has an injured wrist and Bullet Club Gold's Juice Robinson is on the mend for his back.

Hart is set to defend the TBS Championship against Willow Nightingale at AEW's upcoming Dynasty pay-per-view in St. Louis, Missouri. Hart won the championship back at Full Gear 2023 defeating Skye Blue and Kris Statlander, winning her first title in her young career. As for Nightingale, she's challenged for the title a number of times but has yet to win her first title in AEW. She signed with the promotion back in late 2022 after various on and off appearances. Before they make it to the pay-per-view provided Hart is healthy, Hart will team with fellow House of Black member Brody King against Willow and Adam Copeland on next week's Dynamite. Copeland is set to take part in a multi-man match at Dynasty, teaming with Mark Briscoe and Eddie Kingston against the House of Black.

When Is the AEW Dynasty Pay-Per-View?

AEW Dynasty is slated for April 21 in St. Louis at the Chaifetz Arena. While tickets are still available for those in the area, the event will also stream on Triller TV, Bleacher Report, and YouTube TV. The card features a dream match between Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson, Kazuchika Okada defending the Continental Championship against PAC, Toni Storm vs. former tag team partner Thunder Rosa for the Women's World Championship, and the Young Bucks vs. FTR for the vacant World Tag Team Championships.

Stay tuned to Comicbook.com for updates on Hart and AEW.

A popular AEW star's deal is expiring later this year, and a new report states that he is interested in exploring free agency once his deal is up. That star is the young phenom Hook, who has been one of AEW's rising stars since his debut, and the report comes from SEScoops. The report goes on to say that a source familiar with WWE's recruitment strategy commented "I can see WWE clearly being interested in him." Whether that comes to pass or not remains to be seen, but if the report is accurate, Hook possibly moving to another company is a mighty big deal, and his addition would be a boost for any roster.

Hook is the son of current AEW commentator and former WWE and ECW star Taz, which has been played up a lot during Hook's run in AEW thus far. Hook currently holds the FTW Championship, which was introduced by Taz during his ECW days. Hook has been associated with the Title pretty much since his AEW debut, and is currently holding it for the second time.

Hook is currently in a program with Chris Jericho, who has taken to attempting to mentor Hook by both teaming up with him and facing him as an opponent at various times. Right now Shibata has found himself in that program as well, and at some point Jericho and Hook will likely be true adversaries, leading to some sort of actual feud between the two.

If Hook does decide to depart AEW, he would certainly have multiple suitors, including TNA, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and WWE. Hook has found success in various tag teams during his run as well as individual success, and he would bring a worthwhile addition to any of those rosters. Plus, there are several dream-match scenarios available in all three.

That said, there's still plenty for him to do in AEW. Hook hasn't held a Title outside of the FTW Championship during his run to this point, which seems like a natural next step either as part of a Tag Team or as an individual. Hook did content for the AEW World Championship earlier this year against Samoa Joe, but Joe retained. Perhaps a rematch is set to happen down the line, but Joe will have to first get past Swerve Strickland at AEW Dynasty.

There's also the possibility of Hook moving to Ring of Honor to attain some Title gold, but that doesn't seem as likely. You could even have him re-team with someone like Danhausen to win the Tag Team Championships, but that's just all conjecture at this point.

Where do you want to see Hook land in free agency? Let us know in the comments!

All Elite Wrestling is heading back to the United Kingdom. Following the smash success of AEW ALL IN: London this past August, AEW announced that it would return to Wembley Stadium in Summer 2024. This show will mark a trilogy of ALL IN events, as the inaugural edition came back in September 2018, precursing the birth of AEW. After five years of dormancy, AEW President Tony Khan resurrected the historic name for AEW's overseas debut in an effort to capture the "bet on yourself" spirit that ALL IN (2018) had. AEW ALL IN: London went on to have the largest paid attendance for a wrestling show in history, selling 81,035 tickets.

Many of those who flocked to Wembley that day came to see Will Ospreay. AEW borrowed the Aerial Assassin from New Japan Pro Wrestling for AEW ALL IN: London, fulfilling a dream of Ospreay's by having him wrestle inside Wembley Stadium. While Ospreay was the outsider in 2023, he walks into the 2024 event as one of AEW's top flag-bearers.

Beyond likely having a prominent bout on the card, Ospreay is also helping put together 2024's AEW ALL IN: London as a whole.

"Yeah, we have," AEW President Tony Khan told ComicBook.com when asked if he and Ospreay have discussed Ospreay's creative ideas for AEW ALL IN: London. "I have talked to Will about it and I'm really excited. I think that this is going to be an amazing event and I'm really thrilled that we get to do this, that we're going to Wembley Stadium and Will Ospreay is under contract. He's going to be a part of it as a full-time member of the AEW roster this year. He's very excited about the event. I've been talking to him about it lot. I think it's going to be tremendous."

Ospreay's involvement as a full-time competitor is just one of a couple new luxuries that AEW ALL IN: London has this year. AEW also has had a full year to spread the word, begin ticket sales, and tease matches for the 2024 version.

"I think it's going to really pick up coming out of Double or Nothing, which is about three months before," Khan said in response to when the AEW ALL IN: London build will begin. "I think you'll see a lot of build through the summer from Double or Nothing to ALL IN, and of course you have Forbidden Door in the middle."

AEW ALL IN: London goes down on Sunday, August 25th.

Ahead of WrestleMania in Philadelphia, WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque promoted the big weekend but not without throwing a few shots at his competitors at AEW. One of those was aimed at Will Ospreay who signed with AEW last November at Full Gear.

"When I see people trying to make it, and they pick the job where they go, 'Well, I work less and the schedule's lighter.' Okay I'm glad I didn't get you because if you're not in it for the grind in that point in your career, you have no business being here." Before he signed with AEW there were reports that WWE was highly interested in The Aerial Assassin but Ospreay ultimately chose AEW at this stage in his career so he had the flexibility to see his family as often as he'd like.

AEW Dynamite this week addressed a few huge elephants in the room including the shot from Levesque and CM Punk's comments on Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour. While the Young Bucks showed footage from AEW All In of Punk and Jack Perry's backstage altercation, Ospreay went out on live television to fire back at his critics. "Normally I wouldn't rise to this type of bait, right? But seeing how the guy who said it Is only in the position because he was grinding the boss' daughter, you have no business telling me what the grind is all about, my friend. Because you have no idea what I fight for."

Early Thursday morning, PWTorch's Wade Keller discussed the two biggest moments out of the show, noting that Ospreay and the Bucks weren't exactly in favor of participating, and that in Ospreay's case the idea was presented to him hours ahead of the show. Fightful Select got clarification on the ordeal and after speaking to sources close to Ospreay and the situation, were told it was Ospreay's idea to do it. He was fine with cutting the promo and it presented no issues. After working with the creative team on it, he ran it by several people backstage. Apparently at one point there was a version of it that included a line about Punk following his comments about Ospreay's infamous AEW All In tattoo but with the Bucks segment it was viewed as overkill and scrapped.

Ospreay made his huge AEW debut ahead of AEW Revolution in March. On that show he tore the house down with fellow Don Callis Family member Konosuke Takeshita and he's been on a hot streak ever since. Ospreay is set to go face-to-face with "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson at AEW Dynasty on April 21 in St, Louis, a match that will prove who the best wrestler in the world really is.

What did you make of Ospreay's comments on AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!

Former multi-time STARDOM Champion and NJPW STRONG Women's Champion Giulia is one of the hottest female free agents currently on the market. It's been reported that many companies have made a bid to bring in the decorated women's wrestler in the past but those plans never came to fruition.

Following her departure from STARDOM at the end of March, Giulia made the trek to the United States and popped up in Philadelphia during WrestleMania weekend. She was first seen at WWE World and the photos went viral as fans wondered where she would show up next. They didn't have to wait long for an answer as she was shown in the crowd by WWE at NXT Stand and Deliver Saturday afternoon. It's rare for WWE to show non-contracted wrestlers in the crowd but shortly after WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque shared a photo to social media of the two shaking hands.

According to a recent report from Fightful Select, Giulia has signed a contract with WWE. From the beginning of her negotiations she wasn't looking for an agency to help her make a deal and the case of her signing came down to WWE having more interest and offering more money than AEW. Giulia is said to be finishing up her remaining dates with former STARDOM co-founder Rossy Ogawa who recently started his own promotion. The report also states that William Regal played an integral role in her negotiations with WWE.

After returning to Japan, Giulia spoke to Tokyo Sports about her trip to the United States and what it entailed, but while she didn't reveal specifics, noted that there will be announcements in the "not-too-distant future."

She also discussed her debut at NXT Stand and Deliver, not realizing that the camera was on her the whole time. "The monitor was right above me and I couldn't see it, so I didn't think I was in the picture. There was a huge cheer, so I thought maybe someone big had arrived. Then I got a call from an acquaintance saying, 'That was a huge cheer! I saw the video and realized that the cheers were for me. It was a waste of time. I want to do it all over again."

Are you excited to see Giulia in WWE? Let us know in the comments.

All Elite Wrestling has broadcasted one of its darkest moments. Moments before AEW ALL IN: London went live on pay-per-view, CM Punk and Jack Perry got into a physical altercation backstage. The situation unfolded after Perry made a televised reference on the pay-per-view's pre-show to a prior private disagreement he and Punk had. While the brawl was long categorized as a he said, she said situation, security cameras picked up the fight in its entirety. In an effort to weave it into a storyline, the Young Bucks aired the once undisclosed footage on AEW Dynamite, leaving the wrestling world polarized.

Some interpreted the audio-less footage as vindicating Punk. Others see it as evidence that Punk was the aggressor. Regardless of which way it goes, there has been one undisputed positive metric to come from it.

Jack Perry's "SCAPEGOAT" Shirt Sells Out

Wrestling fans are showing their support for Jack Perry.

Less than 24 hours removed from AEW airing the AEW ALL IN: London security footage of Perry and CM Punk's backstage altercation on AEW Dynamite, Perry's "SCAPEGOAT" shirt has sold out on his personal website. Matthew Jackson of the Young Bucks wore the shirt under his blazer on AEW Dynamite, revealing it as he exited frame.

Perry has been using the "SCAPEGOAT" monicker since returning to wrestling earlier this year. He has been competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling, first popping up at NJPW Battle in the Valley and acting in defiance towards his employer, ripping up his AEW contract.

"Jack's doing great things in New Japan," AEW President Tony Khan told ComicBook.com earlier this year. "He's had a great run. He's established himself over there. He feels he's the scapegoat. He's doing great things, and he's wrestling for a great promotion. It's been great tracking Jack's progress in New Japan. I think he's done excellent work."

It's unclear as to when Perry will be back on AEW programming. Current storylines seem to be planting seeds for the former AEW World Tag Team Champion to link up with The Elite (Kazuchika Okada and the Young Bucks) upon his comeback. A natural place for his return would be AEW Dynasty, as the Bucks used the aforementioned security footage to antagonize FTR, their opponents on the upcoming pay-per-view. With the Bucks blaming Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler for Perry and Punk's fight, Perry could look to exact revenge on the tag team by costing them the AEW World Tag Team Championships and helping the Bucks in the process.

2024 is All Elite Wrestling's biggest year on pay-per-view. The company kicked off the year with AEW Revolution in March, continuing the annual tradition of beginning its pay-per-view calendar with that particular event. While past years would then queue up AEW Double or Nothing after, AEW announced a new pay-per-view to bridge the gap between the two: AEW Dynasty. That inaugural show will take place from St. Louis's Chaifetz Arena, the first time that AEW is running a pay-per-view event from the Mound City. Beyond AEW Dynasty, it had been known that AEW will return to the place that it all began, the MGM Grand Garden Arena, for AEW Double or Nothing and will run back AEW ALL IN: London inside Wembley Stadium.

AEW Announces Full 2024 Pay-Per-View Lineup

AEW has unveiled its full pay-per-view lineup for 2024.

In a press release, AEW announced the dates and locations for the eight remaining pay-per-views it has this year. You can see the full list below...

• Sunday, April 21 - AEW Dynasty at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO
  
• Sunday, May 26 - AEW Double or Nothing at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV
  
• Sunday, June 30 - AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY
  
• Sunday, August 25 - AEW ALL IN: London at Wembley Stadium in London, UK
  
• Sunday, September 1 - AEW All Out at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL
  
• Saturday, October 12 - AEW WrestleDream at Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA
  
• Saturday, November 23 - AEW Full Gear at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ
  
• Saturday, December 28 - AEW Worlds End at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL
  

"Last month's AEW Revolution was the best pay-per-view event in company history, further cementing AEW's dominance as the leader in cutting-edge professional wrestling pay-per-view events worldwide," AEW President Tony Khan said in a statement. "With AEW Dynasty on the horizon next Sunday, we are solidifying our remaining 2024 pay-per-view schedule by returning to familiar places and debuting in iconic locations, giving fans around the world the opportunity to make plans in advance to be part of the excitement live in-person."

It's worth noting that these events were all announced specifically as pay-per-views. Khan has entertained the idea of bringing AEW's special events to streaming before, but this announcement indicates that that pivot won't happen until at least 2025.

AEW is no stranger to most of these cities and arenas. The company has run multiple events from the UBS Arena in Long Island, including a number of AEW Dynamite homecomings for former AEW World Champion MJF. The NOW Arena has hosted AEW All Out three times before. AEW WrestleDream returns to Washington state, this time pivoting away from Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena in favor of the Tacoma Dome. AEW Full Gear will also emanate from familiar territory, as the 2022 edition of the event also took place at the Prudential Center.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on AEW's pay-per-view schedule in 2024.