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Welcome to another exciting edition of the AEW News Roundup, where we compile all the biggest news stories coming from the world of All Elite Wrestling.
We'll start today's column with former WWE Superstar Braun Strowman, who has fired another shot at Tony Khan's promotion.
Meanwhile, a former world champion has shared his honest opinion on Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE.
And speaking of switching promotions, Mark Henry has predicted the 41-year-old's wrestling future.
Aside from these lead stories, we've got some captivating news to wrap up today's Roundup. Now without further ado, let's dive straight into the top five news stories of the week.
#5 Braun Strowman calls AEW "Dynamite" a punishment for wrestling fans
AEW President Tony Khan has found himself under the radar of criticism lately.
A few days ago, the company's owner sent out a Twitter thread in which he claimed the anti-AEW online community is not "real" but instead an army of bots/fake accounts driven by an anonymous group.
Mr. Khan's statement sparked massive discussion in the wrestling world, with stars like Adam Scherr (f.k.a. Braun Strowman) making witty remarks. The former Universal Champion previously called Tony Khan a mark for providing controversial revelations.
Soon after, Strowman engaged in a hilarious discussion with a Twitter user, who asserted that he would punish their kid by making them watch three hours of RAW.
In an amusing bit, the former Universal Champion asserted that watching AEW Dynamite is a far worse punishment than watching Monday Night RAW.
#4 Chris Jericho speaks on Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE
On Night 1 of WrestleMania 38, Cody Rhodes stunned the wrestling world when he returned to WWE for the first time in over six years.
In doing so, he made history by becoming the first Superstar from the AEW umbrella to leave the nest for WWE.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Chris Jericho expressed disappointment over seeing The American Nightmare leaving the company he helped found.
The former world champion, however, understands why Rhodes switched wrestling companies since he also did the same back when he left WWE, citing a poor creative decision from management:
"I was honestly disappointed that he [Cody Rhodes] left. But I get it. I've done it many times myself. You know this, we can discuss the reinvention of Jericho many times. I mean, I left WWE in 2017 for basically the same reason why Cody left AEW," Jericho said. "From what I understand, he just didn't think he was getting I don't know if it's the spotlight or respect or whatever the word being."
Jericho further revealed that the AEW locker room initially missed Rhodes' presence, but a week later, it felt like the former EVP never even existed:
"We're gonna miss him in AEW. But quite frankly, it was a shock when he left, and a week later, you know, it's almost like he never even existed. That's just the way wrestling goes."
Hot on the heels of his victory over Rollins at The Show of Shows, Rhodes defeated The Miz in his first match on RAW this week in over six years.
#3 Mark Henry teasing Cesaro's AEW arrival?
Cesaro left WWE in February this year after the two parties failed to reach a new agreement.
Since becoming a free agent upon leaving WWE, the former U.S. Champion's pro wrestling future has been up in the air.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, AEW's broadcaster Mark Henry hinted that there could be Cesaro "sighting" in the future:
"Believe me, there will be a Cesaro sighting, just not right now,” said Henry. “When that day comes, the world of pro wrestling is gonna be like, ‘H*ly c*w, like, that’s the guy we always wanted to see,'” Mark Henry said. (H/t: SEScoops)
Not too long ago, Tony Khan expressed his interest in potentially signing Cesaro.
Given that the head honcho has been on a signing spree since last year, one shouldn't be surprised if he brings The Swiss Cyborg to All Elite Wrestling down the road.
#2 Chris Jericho wanted Jon Moxley in his stable
Chris Jericho recently revealed that he never wanted to break up with The Inner Circle.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Jericho stated that he initially thought about the idea of allying with Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston before turning heel:
"I'd love to be able to tell you that I had this big overarching plan that was put into place in November when we started doing this thing with Eddie Kingston and I. It wasn't. It was just reading the room and evolving. My original idea was for maybe, Eddie, and [Jon] Moxley to be an alliance as babyfaces. I never really thought about turning heel. I always had this real romantic idea of never breaking up the Inner Circle and having us be together until the end. Once we started rolling and moving, I realized there was a lot we could do with it." (h/t: Fightful)
On the March 9 episode of AEW Dynamite, Le Champion joined forces with Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, and 2Point0 to form The Jericho Appreciation Society.
In the upcoming episode of Dynamite, Jericho will team up with Hager and Garcia to face Kingston, Santana & Ortiz in a trios match.
#1 FTR implies Bret Hart asked them to team up with CM Punk
CM Punk recently took to Twitter, notably laying out a challenge for anyone in the locker room, except Eddie Kingston, to face him on Dynamite this week.
While several stars took this as an opportunity and accepted The Second City Saint's challenge, Dax Harwood turned down the idea of facing Punk again.
One-half of the reigning AAA and ROH tag team champions sent out a tweet in which he implied that Bret Hart had asked FTR to be friends with CM Punk.
As of this writing, there's no official word on whether The Straight Edge Superstar will compete in the upcoming Dynamite episode despite many of his co-workers seemingly ready to get in the ring with him.
What do you make of these news stories? Sound off in the comments section below.
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