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Welcome back to another edition of the daily AEW News Roundup, where we take a look at some of the top stories coming out of Tony Khan's company.
An independent wrestler created history by becoming the first person to appear on RAW and AEW programming on the same night. Are you wondering how that happened? We have all the details. A WWE Hall of Famer revealed having no interest in taking up a possible on-screen role in AEW.
Jim Ross named the AEW stars to look forward to in the company and singled out one particular name that fans should certainly not ignore.
A recently released WWE superstar also praised two massive names from AEW during an exclusive Sportskeeda Wrestling interview. Elsewhere, a top wrestling executive also put Tony Khan over for being a breath of fresh air in the business.
We've got some good stories lined up today, so let's not waste any more time and take a look at the AEW News Roundup:
#5. One of Bobby Lashley ladies appears on RAW and AEW Dark: Elevation on the same night
This is one of the oddest stories you'll probably read all day. An indie wrestler became the first person to appear on episodes of WWE RAW and AEW Dark: Elevation on the same day.
Kelsey Heather made her AEW Debut on AEW Dark: Elevation in a losing effort against Leyla Hirsch. She was also one of Bobby Lashley's ladies on the very same night on RAW.
It should be noted that this week's episode of RAW was taped last week on Tuesday, while the AEW Dark: Elevation show was filmed last Wednesday. The amusing dual appearance happened due to the taped nature of both shows, and it's a coincidence they both aired around the same time.
Kelsey Heather is the cheerleading head coach at the University of Tampa, and while she could be seen on AEW programming in the future, fans should not expect to see Heather as one of Lashley's ladies moving forward.
A tweet from AEW Enhancement Talent on Twitter read:
On AEW Dark Elevation #18: Leyla Hirsch @LegitLeyla defeated Kelsey Heather @KelseyHHeather , who made her AEW debut. Kelsey is the current Head Cheerleading Coach at the University of Tampa & a Pro Cheerleader for the Orlando Magic.
The WWE champion fired his 'ladies' this past week ahead of the company's return to touring. As reported earlier via the Wrestling Observer, one of Bobby Lashley's "ladies" had even expressed her desire to work with WWE. However, the identity of the person wasn't revealed in the report.
#4. Eric Bischoff is not interested in taking up a full-time on-screen AEW role
Eric Bischoff is one of the greatest TV characters in pro wrestling history who has also made a few AEW cameos in the recent past.
Bischoff, however, seems to have no intentions of taking up a full-time role at AEW. A fan asked the WWE Hall of Famer a question about becoming an authority figure for AEW, and Bischoff had a straightforward response.
"Been there, done that. Better than anyone. No need to backtrack."
Eric Bischoff rose to fame as the head booker of WCW, and he even had a brilliant spell as an on-screen WWE GM in the early 2000s. Bischoff also revealed last month that he has not signed a contract with anyone, and WWE has also had no objections to his sporadic AEW appearances.
"Absolutely not. I'm going to give you a guys a little secret. A long time ago, I learned that with Vince, it is better to have a conversation on the front end of things like this, well in advance, just out of respect. Not out of necessity. I'm not under contract. I do things with them; we all know that occasionally. Throughout the year, I'll do different things with them," said Bischoff.
The former WCW President last showed up on AEW TV during an Inner Circle press conference segment at the beginning of March 2021.
#3. Jim Ross reveals the stars to watch out for in AEW, backs Ethan Page to be a 'big-time player'
AEW has slowly built up quite a deep roster consisting of established and young wrestlers from the independent circuit. Tony Khan and his team are trying to create homegrown stars by giving various talents a bigger platform to perform.
During the most recent edition of the Grilling JR podcast, the veteran announcer revealed the names of AEW stars he is currently high on.
JR named Darby Allin as one of his favorites, and he praised the former TNT Champion's creativity and overall presentation. Jim Ross highlighted that Darby Allin and Jungle Boy were made in AEW, and they are both on course towards becoming future company flagbearers.
Jim Ross added that fans should not ignore Ethan Page as 'All Ego' is another talent with a very high ceiling. Good Ol' JR predicted big things for the former IMPACT Wrestling star while saying the following:
"Darby is one of my favorites. He's one of my favorites to talk to. Darby is very creative. He comes up with a lot of his own material, shall we say. He's one of our homegrown guys that we take pride in; he and Jungle Boy Jack Perry, for example. Nobody should sleep on Ethan Page. He's going to be a big-time player. He's doing really well. (H/T: SEScoops)
Ethan Page is presently in an alliance with Scorpio Sky, and the duo have done pretty well for themselves as a heel tandem.
#2. Former WWE star Tucker praises AEW's Chris Jericho and Britt Baker
As noted earlier, AEW has developed quite an impressive roster, and some of its biggest names have worked really hard to reach the top.
Recently released WWE star Tucker Knight, aka Levi Cooper, appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted with Dr. Chris Featherstone. The former Heavy Machinery member spoke on several topics, including his thoughts on a few AEW stars.
Tucker was thoroughly impressed by Britt Baker's rise in the wrestling business as he recalled the reigning AEW Women's Champion being a 'nobody' merely two years ago.
Levi was happy with AEW's progress and noted the importance of having healthy competition in the pro wrestling space. The former NXT star stated that Baker's evolution is a big success story for AEW as she is presently one of the best female talents in the world:
"Yeah, I mean, they are doing very well. I think in any industry, healthy competition is good for the industry, right? I mean, the more eyes on wrestling as a whole, the better it is for indie wrestling and companies like TNA and all of them. I think AEW has been doing great. They have been servicing a population of new wrestling fans, and it seems like those people are extremely happy with what's going on. I think, obviously, Britt Baker has been very impressive, right? Somebody right off the bat from being essentially nobody to becoming one of the biggest female stars in wrestling in two years," said Levi Cooper.
Tucker continued to talk about AEW and brought up his admiration for Chris Jericho, who he rightfully called a 'living legend.' He said that AEW seemed like a place with a thriving locker room filled with performers who loved what they did in the ring.
"I'm also a big fan of Chris Jericho. He's a living legend who's done pretty much everything in the business. Yeah, I mean, it just seems there's a lot happening with people loving what they are doing over there, and that's ultimately to me sort of what this is about, you know, with energy permeating through the locker room, and into the ring," said Tucker
Chris Jericho and Britt Baker are inarguably two of the faces of AEW, but who has impressed you the most since the company's inception? Let us know in the comments section below!
#1. Scott D'Amore says AEW's Tony Khan is a breath of fresh air in the wrestling industry
AEW and IMPACT Wrestling have forged a fruitful partnership that has resulted in multiple cross-promotional angles this year.
IMPACT EVP Scott D'Amore was a guest on Vickie Guerrero's Excuse Me podcast, where he spoke about the working relationship with AEW and how Tony Khan's vision has ushered in a new era in wrestling.
D'Amore highlighted how it has been historically tricky for two wrestling companies to work with each other as many variables are involved. For IMPACT Wrestling, the AEW deal has been incredibly smooth as Tony Khan has handled the negotiations with utmost transparency and professionalism.
Despite having contrasting business models, AEW and IMPACT Wrestling have formed a beneficial alliance, and Tony Khan has been the driving force behind it all.
Here's what Scott D'Amore had to say during his recent podcast appearance:
"You know the deal in wrestling, sometimes there's a lot of hurdles to jump through, but I think the relationship with AEW has been fantastic," said D'Amore. "I think that Tony Khan is a breath of fresh air in many ways in the wrestling industry. And it's just been great to deal with a person who's in a different company, competitors, whatever you want to classify it, but there's honesty and transparency." (H/T WrestleZone)
AEW and IMPACT Wrestling's coalition has been going strong since the end of 2020, and we may not even have seen the best of both companies yet.
