News Roundup: Top star predicts ex-WWE star's arrival in AEW, Jon Moxley's return match announced, WCW veteran reveals Cody Rhodes' reaction to potential heel turn (3rd January 2021)

Welcome back to another thrilling edition of the AEW News Roundup, which will shed light on the biggest news stories coming from the world of All Elite Wrestling.

We'll begin today's edition with Christian Cage, who believes a recently released WWE star will end up in AEW. Meanwhile, fans will be delighted to hear that a major promotion is advertising Jon Moxley's return match against a TNA legend.

A WCW veteran has revealed how Cody Rhodes reacted when he advised him to turn heel.

With the AEW roster continuing to get stacked with recent editions, Adam Cole has expressed his desire to see another former WWE star in Tony Khan's company.

And lastly, Chris Jericho recently recalled his match from last year and has explained why it deserved a five-star rating. Now let's quickly dive into the details of these news stories.

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#5 Christian Cage is optimistic about Jeff Hardy joining AEW

While speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri for ET Canada, Christian Cage opened up about his connection with fellow AEW star Matt Hardy and explained how they're keen to mentor younger talents in the company.

Cage then talked about Jeff Hardy's potential move to AEW, assuring that the Charismatic Enigma will join the promotion at some point.

"Yeah, of course. There's so much history there and, obviously, I'm very close with Matt [Hardy] as well. It's been great to reconnect with him in AEW. He's kind of doing the same thing as far as mentoring the younger generation the same way. He's also got a wealth of knowledge. Jeff is an extremely talented guy. A really good guy. I'm sure at some point that will happen," Christian Cage said.

In a shocking development last month, Jeff Hardy was released from his WWE contract. With his brother, Matt, teasing a potential Hardy Boyz reunion, it is safe to assume that Jeff will join AEW once he is ready to make a comeback to professional wrestling.

#4 AEW star Jon Moxley will return to the in-ring action this month

AEW star Jon Moxley will return to the squared circle for the first time since entering an inpatient alcohol treatment program a few months ago.

The former WWE Superstar will put his GCW World Championship on the line against Homicide, who earned his shot at the coveted title by winning a Do or Die Rumble at a recent GCW Die 4 event.

The bout between Mox and Homicide will go down on January 23rd at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Both men have fought numerous battles on the independent circuit over the years.

Homicide surprisingly showed up at last year's Grand Slam edition of AEW Rampage to help Mox and Kingston defeat Suzuki and Archer.

Considering their rich history, Mox and Homicide would leave no stone unturned to tear the house down later this month.

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#3 Konnan revealed AEW star Cody Rhodes' reaction when he advised him to turn heel

Wrestling fans and veterans alike have been clamoring for Cody Rhodes' potential heel turn for quite a while now.

While speaking on his Keepin It 100 podcast, Konnan argued that AEW made a big blunder by putting the TNT Championship on The American Nightmare. Meanwhile, he highly praised Sammy Guevara and even applauded the rising star for his performance against Rhodes.

"They look at him [Sammy] as a star," said Konnan. "People are into him. That match he had with Cody was f ***ing great. I don't think he needs the belt. I don't know why they gave him the belt..."

Konnan assumed Cody Rhodes could soon be embracing the heel persona, based on a conversation he had with the AEW star. The veteran noted that Cody doesn't think it's the right time for him to undergo a character change.

"I think he's turning heel, bro, And I think he actually kind of worked me backstage because I told him he had to turn heel. And he kind of made me feel like, you know, it's not time, you know, but I think he's going to turn heel. Bro, you have to. The people booed when he won," said Konnan.

Konnan was right on point when he discussed the 36-year-old star garnering a hostile reaction during his matches.

The AEW fanbase heavily booed Rhodes when he dethroned Sammy Guevara to win the TNT Championship for the third time in his career a few weeks ago.

#2 Adam Cole wants to see Johnny Gargano sign with AEW

While speaking on the Throwing Down podcast, AEW star Adam Cole recalled his intense rivalry with Johnny Gargano in NXT and mentioned the latter as one of his favorite opponents of all time.

Cole further expressed his desire to see Gargano in AEW.

"I will always mention Johnny Gargano as one of my favourite opponents of all time. We had a series of matches in NXT that, to this day, I’m incredibly proud of, a fanatic human being, across the board. Johnny is a guy I would really love to see in AEW... who knows... as the wrestling landscape continues to change and evolve,” said Adam Cole.

It's worth noting that Johnny Gargano's WWE contract expired last month alongside Kyle O'Reilly. With the latter having wasted no time jumping ship over to AEW, it would be interesting to see whether Gargano will follow in his footsteps or not.

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#1 AEW's Chris Jericho believes his match against Nick Gage deserved a five-star rating

While speaking on his Talk Is Jericho podcast, Chris Jericho talked about last year's Fight For the Fallen edition of Dynamite, where he faced Nick Gage in a No Rules stipulation match.

Jericho called it one of the favorite matches of his career. Furthermore, the veteran explained that they did all the 'cool' spots and deserved a five-star rating.

"We did the match with Nick Gage and came up with all the cool spots that you saw. One of my favorite matches. You talk about a five-star match. I don’t know if there’s such thing as a five-star deathmatch. Of course, there should be and of course there is. In my opinion, it was a four and a half, five-star match."

Chris Jericho even said that if he ever made his 'addendum' to his 'List of Jericho' book, he would give in between a four to five-star rating to his match against Gage. Moreover, the Demo God downplayed the idea of doing another deathmatch again.

"If I were ever doing an addendum to my List of Jericho book, I [will] put it in there as four and a half stars [or] five stars. I never had a full-fledged deathmatch before. I’ll never have a full-fledged deathmatch again. But that night, we had a great one," said Jericho.

AEW star Jericho defeated Gage in an incredibly barbaric contest, thus advancing into the five labors of Jericho storyline. However, it received heavy criticism for depicting excessive blood. Dave Meltzer gave a four-star rating to their bout.