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Welcome to the 27th July 2021 edition of the AEW News Roundup. Excitement levels are at an all-time high if you're an AEW fan with some of the rumors going around. We bring you the best of those developments in the world of All Elite Wrestling.
We start with a top AEW star and executive speaking about signing Sting and how the process panned out. Tony Khan has caught some serious criticism from a former WWE and WCW writer over his recent signing spree.
AEW World Champion Kenny Omega spoke about what he expects and hopes for from the upcoming AEW weekly show in August. A former WWE manager and AEW personality held talks with Tony Khan regarding the women's decision and shared her ideas to improve upon it.
Finally, Cody Rhodes discusses his historic, five-star classic against his brother Dustin Rhodes at Double or Nothing 2019.
Without further ado, let's jump into it.
# Cody Rhodes on AEW signing Sting
At AEW Dynamite: Winter is Coming, the wrestling world was sent into a frenzy as for the first time in 20 years, Sting made an appearance on TNT. The Icon helped Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin after their match against Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs.
Since then, Sting has primarily functioned as a mentor for Darby Allin. But when he signed, people weren't sure if they would see the WCW legend in action again. His last televised match was in September 2015 with WWE.
Those doubts were put to rest as Sting and Darby Allin beat the Men of the Year at Double or Nothing 2021.
Cody Rhodes appeared on Inside the Ropes and praised the AEW medical team for allowing us to see Sting in action again, calling Tony Khan's promotion the healthiest company Sting could possibly join.
"Sting joined the healthiest company he could possibly join," Cody Rhodes said. "And it wasn’t a matter of ever getting him cleared, he’s got to do that through his doctors and our doctors, but more than anything, I don’t know if we thought Sting was going to have a “match” match. Until I saw the level of intensity that the cinematic was—probably more intense than an actual live 12-15 minute match—that’s when I knew, personally, he can have a match."
"You’re only as good as your dancing partner and when people talk about somebody who might be medically—they might have a handicap, they might have an issue—what we do, we protect that. That’s our job is to protect that," said Cody Rhodes.
Sting's in-ring career was thought to be over after the injury in his match against Seth Rollins in 2015.
#4 Vince Russo is not a fan of Tony Khan's AEW signing spree
AEW has been on a roll lately. The fans are back, the shows have been amazing, the ratings are going up and well, they might be signing Daniel Bryan and CM Punk having already snapped up the likes of Malakai Black and Andrade 'El Idolo'.
One person who is not impressed with the spree is former WWE and WCW writer Vince Russo. He lambasted AEW President Tony Khan for signing wrestlers like a kid who collects action figures from his father's money and has no budget. He referred to his own time back in TNA and stated he had to operate on a budget.
"Bro, literally. This is a kid collecting action figures. I mean, I'm just being honest. First of all, it's not his money. Let's make that clear, yeah, his dad's money. There is no budget. I'm telling you, I worked for Dixie, there was a budget. I was on the phone with Dixie's mom, who was dropping a hammer. Well, see, I never got involved in that level (with Turner). There was less people at TNA, so I used to get a little bit more, but Dixie's mom was dropping the hammer. There was a budget. Bro, there is no budget here."
Russo said there are no restrictions in AEW and anyone can pitch to Tony Khan and get their way.
"And bro, here is what's happening, you know, first of all, Tony Khan's not saying no to anybody. You know, bro, all it probably takes is one of the boys going to him, 'Hey bro, Chavo.' Oh yeah, you know what I mean? But as you said, Chris, okay, you're collecting all these action figures," stated Vince Russo.
Vince Russo used Chavo Guerrero's signing to explain his point about how he thinks the AEW President is functioning at the moment.
#3 Kenny Omega hopes AEW Rampage features more women's wrestling
AEW's Women's division has some of the best talents in all of wrestling. Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, Thunder Rosa, Serena Deeb, Tay Conti, and Penelope Ford are just some of the most talented women on their roster.
However, according to fans, they are not featured sufficiently on AEW Dynamite. Most of the stars on the female roster have a lion's share of their appearances coming in Dark and Dark: Elevation.
World Champion Kenny Omega is hoping the new AEW show launching in August rectifies that. AEW Rampage premieres on Friday, August 13, 2021, and The Belt Collector would "love" if the new feature more women's wrestling. In an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio, the Best Bout Machine said:
"The content I think we're lacking is in our women's division. I would love to see Rampage be a home to more women's wrestling. I want people to see and appreciate and enjoy the talent we have to offer. I hope we get to show some of these matches that perhaps aren't seen by those people. We have a lot of great talent on Dark and people maybe don't want to watch our YouTube channel. Maybe they just want to watch Dynamite and want to see a television product. I get that. I think the extra hour with Rampage, rather than give them more Chris Jericho, more Kenny Omega, more MJF and the guys you know you're going to see on Dynamite; I'd rather give them all of the extremely talented individuals that maybe you don't see that week. I feel like we have incredibly gifted female wrestlers that have been working very hard and fighting for a spot and maybe it's time for them to get more. I think that would count as a variation on more women's wrestling. We always try to have a variant."
Kenny Omega is spot on with his assessment and hopefully, after AEW Rampage starts airing weekly, we get to see the women's division highlight the way it deserves to be.
#2 Vickie Guerrero wants her own female faction in AEW
Vickie Guerrero has a storied history of managing wrestlers, and it has continued in AEW. She is currently associated with Nyla Rose and even introduced Andrade El Idolo to the AEW fanbase.
It appears that she doesn't want to stop there. Vickie recently appeared on the Thoughts Count Anywhere podcast and said that she wants her own female faction in AEW.
"My dream is to have an all-women's faction," Vickie said. "That's my goal that I've been talking to Tony Khan about. There are some incredible women on the women's roster and I'd love to bring some more in. The purpose of my job is to get all the bad girls on my side so they listen to me and I can delegate them to kick everyone's a**," said Vickie Guerrero. (H/T: Fightful)
She went on to name women from AEW and an ex-WWE star as the people she would like to recruit to her faction.
"Diamante, I would love to have her on. Abadon because she scares the hell out of me. Thunder Rosa, I think she would be an incredible addition to my stable. That's who I have my eyes on right now," Vickie said. "I would love to have Ruby on the roster for AEW. She was really underutilized. Just a great talent and a wholesome human being," Vickie added.
AEW is known for having too many factions, but the prospect of a dominant female unit with Vickie as the manager is definitely a thought-provoking one.
#1 Cody Rhodes doesn't want to rewatch the historic AEW Double or Nothing classic
Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes fought in one of the best brother vs brother battles of all time at AEW Double or Nothing 2019. The match was an instant classic and elevated both men immensely.
During an interview with Inside the Ropes, the AEW EVP discussed his match and the aftermath. He spoke about the fan atmosphere that night and revealed his concern during the bout due to Dustin's excessive bleeding.
“I knew when I was in the arena, and in the moment, that something very special was happening. Our generation really takes it for granted when we say, ‘We got them’ because, nine times out of ten, when we say it, we don’t got them. That was one where I was like, ‘Oh, we really do.’ It’s so special that I share that connection with the audience, with my brother who, for the most part, all of the match, I kept thinking about, ‘He’s bleeding too much.’ And it wasn’t a matter of like, ‘Gosh, that’s cool. It’s wrestling, there’s blood.’ I was very concerned. ‘Well, we have X amount left, I don’t want him to pass out or be hurt,’ and a lot of what you see in the later part of the match is actually me coddling him via violence, which can only happen in wrestling,” said Cody.
Cody Rhodes went on to say that the match doesn't rank very high for him personally, and he hasn't rewatched it even once.
“Where it ranks for me, it probably will disappoint a lot of people. It’s probably the most important match in my AEW career, but it is not my favourite match that I’ve had with the company. Maybe that’s just because it was so real that it’s raw. It’s almost a beautiful thing, but it’s like you don’t want to revisit it. I’ve never watched it back,” said Cody.
Cody vs Dustin is considered by many as one of the best matches in AEW history.
