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In this week's edition of the AEW News Roundup, a young wrestler staked his claim to be a future world champion, and a former WWE Superstar cleared the air about her departure from the company.
In a revealing interview, Matt Hardy opened up about drugs and alcohol in the wrestling industry. Catch up on all the latest AEW news below:
#5. ECW Legend's son vows to become AEW World Champion
Hook is one of AEW's fastest rising stars. Since his in-ring debut against Fuego Del Sol in December 2021, he has embarked on a singles winning streak and impressed fans with his grappling abilities. The second-generation star even teamed up with Danhausen to form the popular duo #Hookhausen.
Now in a recent interview with GQ, the son of ECW legend Taz declared his intentions to become a future World Champion:
"I want to be the AEW world champion. That's it. That's the goal. But outside of wrestling, I plan to delve into some other markets—design or artistic directing I also want to look at acting and modeling."
Despite being 23, he has the potential to be a main event star. It's clear Tony Khan is taking the long route with his career. Here's hoping Hook achieves success in the mid-card and tag divisions first before going after the gold belt.
#4. Matt Hardy opens up about the prevalence of drugs and alcohol in wrestling
AEW star Matt Hardy is a veteran of the squared circle, having experienced its highs and lows. He took the time to delve into the dark world of drugs and alcohol that was rampant in the past.
Speaking on the Drinks with Johnny, Matt revealed how doctors would give wrestlers pills to deal with pain because they couldn't get time off:
"The first 12 or 13 years I had with WWE, my back was so beat up, and I remember there was one point where I said ‘oh, I think I need time off.’ I had to roll out of bed and crawl to the bathtub to soak in my bed or whatever you know. They would just ‘oh we really can’t give you time off, we really trust you, you know you’re really dependable in what you do. Go to the doctor and see what he can do to help you.’ All he can do is prescribe you pills to try and keep you to go through, and that was such a culture back in the day. It was such a bad culture.” (from 12:45 to 13:10)
Regardless, the legend is still thankful for the career WWE has given him:
"It was a great learning experience for me in many ways, because it was there I matured more than I did in anything else in my life. Then once I got together and like I went from being physically, mentally, emotionally [drained], just you know beat up and devastated in every way. Once I got myself back together I really had a good-good hold on how to tackle life and how to deal with things.” (from 13:20 to 13:41)
Luckily, the wrestling business has cleaned up drastically from those heady days, leading to wrestlers having more longevity in their careers.
#3. AEW star Toni Storm clears the air about her WWE departure
Toni Storm finally cleared the air on the real reason behind her departure from WWE. Toni asked for her release in December 2021 and has since revived her career in AEW, potentially entering into a rivalry with the Women's Champion Thunder Rosa.
In a recent interview with Talk Is Jericho, she reflected on her decision. The former NXT UK Women's Champion shot down the rumor of burnout leading to her leaving WWE:
“I’ve got to be honest with you, I was totally unhappy, I wasn’t burnt out… Not that I am complaining and obviously I don’t want to bury the place at all, I don’t want to say anything bad, because to be honest, I am really grateful for the whole thing.”
Furthermore, she criticized WWE's lack of respect for her time and effort:
“It was just the overall frustration, the lack of respect for my time and my effort. I want to give this everything I’ve got, I want to give this my whole life, my whole being… but you’re making it frigging difficult, and I just lost it and I quit, and I just told them, ‘I am so unhappy, I need out.’” (H/T: WrestlingInc)
Toni Storm is now looking to move on and take the AEW women's division by storm (no pun intended).
#2. Swerve Strickland seemingly mocks Keith Lee with a smug message after AEW Rampage
At first, Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland seemed like a mismatch as a tag team, but they got over with fans thanks to their combination of power and speed. The burgeoning duo even challenged for the AEW Tag Team Title at Double or Nothing.
However, this past week's Dynamite saw Swerve shockingly betray his tag team partner in the Battle Royale and push him over the top rope. While The Limitless One looked understandably enraged, his partner showed no remorse as he mischievously smiled back at him.
Strickland recently posted a tweet, taunting his former partner with a picture of the exact moment of the betrayal:
"Scene of the crime"
With 'Swerve in our Glory' no longer a team, fans must stay tuned to see what happens next.
#1. Former WWE personality blasts Jake "The Snake" Roberts after his critical comments regarding MJF's no-show
Jim Cornette heavily criticized Jake "The Snake" Roberts after his latest comments towards AEW star MJF.
In a recent interview with Diamond Dallas Page on the DDP Snake Pit podcast, Roberts criticized the Long Island Loudmouth's fiery promo in the post-Double or Nothing Dynamite:
“For me, it made me sick. It really did. I would love to see what the locker room is like. The bomb that he dropped is going to have repercussions with people.”
In response to Roberts, Cornette called him an 'all-time leader' on the no-show and had no right to criticize MJF for his actions:
"I didn't even do this to hop on Jake, you know, with the crazy train stories because everybody knows them but for Jake to say this, I mean, how can Jake Roberts utter the words? And for me, you don't miss stuff like that. 'This is your fans, your fanbase. These people paid to get in there and you no-showed?' Anybody else in the world that would be a pretty f***ing valid criticism of MJF whether he was pissed or not. But Jake Roberts? The all-time leader in no-show. 'Hold-up, f**k you, I'm gonna be drunk if I'm there or high if I'm there or maybe I won't be there or maybe I won't be there long.'" (from 5:23 to 6:13)
There's no love lost between the two legends who have differing perspectives on the hottest angle in pro wrestling right now.
