AEW News Roundup: Wrestling legend slams Rampage main event segment, Shawn Michaels' reaction to Adam Cole leaving NXT, Former WWE star to challenge Miro? (29th September 2021)

Welcome to the daily edition of the AEW News Roundup, where we bring you the most exciting and newsworthy events taking place around All Elite Wrestling. Tony Khan's promotion is in its hottest phase at the moment, with superstars such as CM Punk, Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson featuring weekly.

We will start off with a legendary wrestling figure's reaction to the main event segment on AEW Rampage: Grand Slam, which wasn't the most pleasant, to say the least. Next, we will look at Shawn Michaels' reaction to Adam Cole leaving WWE for All Elite Wrestling.

A former WWE star dropped a tease about challenging Miro for the TNT Championship, so that will be a story to keep an eye out for. Another wrestling legend shared a heartfelt message for Ruby Soho, and the announcement of the Full Gear venue rounds off the coverage.

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#5. Dutch Mantell called AEW Rampage: Grand Slam's main event segment one of the worst ever

As has been the tradition with Rampage shows so far, Mark Henry pops up in the middle of a split screen to interview the participants in the main event. However, Dutch Mantell felt this week's interview was one of the worst ever.

He appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk and made his thoughts clear during the show. However, Mantell was a fan of the match itself, calling it the best match of the night:

"Mark Henry's interview has to go down in the annals of the worst interview almost ever because Kingston was talking, Moxley was talking, then Suzuki trying to say something, then Mark Henry is trying to decipher that. I'm going what the hell is going on. It wasn't Mark's fault but it wasn't good. Now, Suzuki, I liked him. You know how many bumps he took in that match? Zero. That was the best match of the night though," Dutch Mantell said.

#4. Adam Cole opens up on Shawn Michaels' reaction to him joining AEW

Adam Cole is a big acquisition for AEW but his time in NXT catapulted him from a top indie star to one of the biggest names in all of wrestling. A major reason for his development was 'The Heartbreak Kid' Shawn Michaels, who along with Triple H formed a special bond with The Panama City Playboy.

So strong was their bond that Mr. WrestleMania wanted nothing more than to see Cole happy doing what he does, as the AEW star revealed on Oral Sessions:

"Shawn and I have developed a relationship, like I said, that I think will last for the rest of our lives. At least I hope so, and I know Shawn feels that way too but Shawn has always been such a big supporter of me and what’s best for me. So of course he wanted me to work something out where I could stay and things like that. But at the same time, Shawn wanted me to be happy, he wanted me to do what’s best for me. So he had my back. He knows how much I respect him, how much I look up to him and idolize him."

"So for him to be very open about ‘listen, of course I want you to stay here. But I want you to be happy.’ He was putting business aside, all that stuff aside. He just wanted me to be as happy as possible, so that was really cool for me. It was what I needed to hear honestly. Like I said, it was a big decision. So for him to have my back was really cool,” said Adam Cole. (h/t Wrestling Inc)

Adam Cole's best friends and girlfriend are in AEW, so when his contract was up, it was no surprise to see him in the promotion. The former NXT Champion already holds two victories in his new home, and is set to face Jungle Boy this week.

#3. Could JTG come to AEW to challenge Miro for the TNT Championship?

Former WWE star JTG recently caught up with current AEW TNT champion Miro.

The former Cryme Tyme member posted a picture on Twitter with The Redeemer that had a suggestive caption, stating 'that's a nice belt'.

JTG is currently wrestling with the NWA and recently challenged for the promotion's National Heavyweight Championship, albeit unsuccessfully. There have been numerous crossovers between AEW and NWA with the forbidden door non-existent at the moment.

The NWA Women's Championship has featured in All Elite Wrestling multiple times, not just in title matches but in number one contender matches as well. The latest of which was Leyla Hirsch vs. The Bunny as NWA Women's Champion Camille showed up in Tony Khan's promotion.

A number of AEW stars showed up for National Wrestling Alliance's all-women pay-per-view Empowerrr.

Ricky Starks answered Cody Rhodes' challenge for the TNT Championship while he was still in NWA, before permanently becoming All Elite. It's not out of the realm of possibility to see JTG in All Elite Wrestling sometime down the line.

#2. Ricky Morton shares a heartfelt moment for AEW's Ruby Soho

Ruby Soho has been in AEW for less than a month but has already established herself as one of the best women in the company, especially with her mic work. Her immediate ascension to the top of the women's division caught the eye of legendary tag team wrestler Ricky Morton, who shared a heartfelt moment with his son.

The former Rock N' Roll Express superstar, who won titles in both WCW and WWE, shared a video on Twitter of him and his son singing along to Soho's entrance theme song during a Rancid concert in Nashville, Tennessee. The former Riott Squad leader got a personalized theme song for herself in Tony Khan's promotion.

The Runaway suffered her first loss in the main event of Dynamite in New York, after a month where she emerged victorious in every in-ring outing. The loss did not weaken her character as she lost to the face of the AEW women's division, Dr. Britt Baker.

Where she goes next is a mystery, but her signing has uplifted an ever-improving women's roster in All Elite Wrestling.

#1. AEW confirm that Full Gear is headed to Minneapolis

AEW produces just four pay-per-views every calendar year, making any announcement regarding them huge. The company recently confirmed the location for this year's Full Gear to be Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, November 13.

All Elite Wrestling tweeted the announcement on September 27, confirming what fans had been speculating ever since it was announced that that week's Rampage would be taking place at the Target Center.

"#AEW comes to Minneapolis for #AEWFullGear LIVE on Pay-Per_view Saturday November 13th at the @TargetCenterMN! Tickets start at $29 (plus fees) and go on sale THIS Friday (10/1) at 11 am Eastern/10 am Central at AEWTIX.com!"

All Out was the biggest pay-per-view in the company's history, from an in-ring and storyline standpoint, as well as in terms of buyrates as the show did over 200,000 buys, setting a new non-WWE pay-per-view record since 1999.

The debuts of stars such as Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson as well as the in-ring return of CM Punk boosted anticipation for All Out. It remains to be seen how Tony Khan's company will perform with their next pay-per-view having the benefit of featuring these superstars.

We might even see another big name in the form of Bray Wyatt debuting sometime in the future before Full Gear, while a return to Adam Page will be a boon for the ongoing world title storyline as well.