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Welcome back to another thrilling edition of AEW News and Rumor Roundup, where we compile all the exciting news stories coming from the world of All Elite Wrestling.
We'll begin today's edition with a WCW veteran who believes Jon Moxley shouldn't be competing in violent matches anymore. A wrestling legend has expressed his desire to see Cody Rhodes turn on a WWE Hall of Famer.
In another notable development, a report suggested that fans walked out during a significant AEW show. The ongoing beef between Tony Khan and Eric Bischoff has grabbed the attention of the wrestling world. However, a former WWE writer sees it as actual 'work.'
Konnan recently stated that Tony Khan's promotion made a big mistake by signing an NXT star. Now without further ado, let's take a deep dive into these news stories.
#5 WCW Veteran slams AEW's Jon Moxley for competing in violent matches
Disco Inferno recently lashed out at Jon Moxley for competing in violent bouts while questioning AEW's higher-ups for his strange booking.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Keepin' It 100 podcast, the WCW veteran blasted Mox for wrestling in barbaric matches outside AEW. Inferno believes the company's main event stars shouldn't be risking their bodies in unsafe environments.
He even added that AEW should put Moxley in the main event, given his ability to draw more crowd:
"Main eventers don't bleed all over the place with flashlights and lightbulbs. Any main eventer in any major company that you view as a main event talent, they should not be doing that. Plus, he (Jon Moxley) isn't a main eventer, he was a world champion, so he has taken a step down. What are they doing? Put him in the main event, and he's like more of a draw," said Disco Inferno.
There's no doubt that Jon Moxley has pursued a different route since dropping the AEW World Title. Although his deathmatches have added an extra layer to his aggressive character, fans aren't happy with his booking from last year.
However, Death Rider is now steadily getting back in title contention. He has advanced into the semi-finals of the ongoing AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament, which will culminate at Full Gear 2021.
#4 Wrestling legend wants AEW star Cody Rhodes to turn heel
AEW star Cody Rhodes' potential heel turn has become one of the hottest topics in pro wrestling today. Despite The American Nightmare resisting a negative gimmick on live television, fans have been clamoring for it for a long time.
Jim Cornette also expressed the same during a recent episode of The Experience podcast. The wrestling legend cited Roman Reigns' example when WWE didn't pull the trigger on him. However, since the former Shield member turned heel, he became one of the hottest commodities in the company today.
Cornette believes Cody Rhodes' heel turn could attract a lot of viewers:
"I'm just gobsmacked. It’s not easy being heel, but when the people hate your guts and they’re booing you, why would you not want to do that? We pretend...switch Roman Reigns five years before they did. Now look at him, right? Why would you not want to be a heel? He could draw money as a heel because the people are predisposed not to like him," Cornette said.
The former manager even added that the company could draw a legitimate heat out of Rhodes if they book him to betray his mentor Arn Anderson and then feud with CM Punk:
"Him and his social climbing wife, if they backstabbed Arn Anderson and carried him on a stretcher and got into doing something with CM Punk...that would draw pay-per-view money. They might actually have a heel that has legitimate heat instead of one that is cheered out of the building for beating up one of their top babyfaces," said Jim Cornette.
#3 Fans walked out during AEW Rampage last week - Reports
AEW usually shoots their Dark, Elevation, and Rampage episodes in advance, making fans sit for a few more hours after the Dynamite episode. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio recently reported that fans left the arena during Rampage taping last week.
Despite the show being action-packed, many fans walked out soon after the opening match between Bryan Danielson and Eddie Kingston ended.
#2 Vince Russo believes the feud between Eric Bischoff and Tony Khan is a 'work'
Vince Russo recently gave his honest opinion on the ongoing beef between AEW President Tony Khan and Eric Bischoff. Both men have gone back-and-forth on Twitter multiple times ever since the latter started going head-to-head with WWE.
While speaking with Dr. Chris Featherstone of Sportskeeda Wrestling, the former WWE head writer explained that the online war between Mr. Khan and Bischoff is a 'work' or scripted:
"We were doing the show today and my co-host said, 'But Vince, why would Tony allow this to happen? Eric's making a fool out of him, why would Tony allow this to go down?' and you know why? Because he's going to go over in the match. That's the trade-off. This will be an angle so Eric's going to be paid for many weeks, if he gets into an angle with Tony," Russo said.
He even added that the conclusion would lead to an actual wrestling match between Tony Khan and Eric Bischoff, where the AEW chief will go over:
"I guarantee you, it's going to be a match and Tony Khan is going to go over. Eric Bischoff is way, way, way too smart to piss off Tony Khan and piss away that potential payday. He's way too smart for this. Everybody's buying into this and I'm like come on, this is 100% a work," said Vince Russo.
#1 WCW legend says AEW made a mistake by signing Bobby Fish
Konnan believes AEW has made a mistake by signing Bobby Fish, given the depth of their men's roster. He added that the company doesn't need Bobby Fish right now.
While speaking on the Keepin' It 100 podcast, the WCW legend explained that it would become impossible for AEW to make everyone their top guy.
However, Konnan stated that Fish could help elevate fellow wrestlers or even become part of a faction like The Undisputed Era, similar to his days in NXT:
"They (AEW) want everybody to be a top guy, not everyone can be a top guy, and yeah, they don't need him right now, they got way too many ways. But at least they know whoever they put him in with will have a good match. One thing you know about Bobby Fish is he'll give you a good match, and he could be used to make somebody a star. They could maybe repackage him and put him in a team like Undisputed Era, you never know," said Konnan.
What are your thoughts on these tidbits from AEW? Let us know in the comments below.
