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AEW continues to grow and the company is set to end 2019 on a high. Chris Jericho vs Jungle Boy will headline the December 18th show and will actually be AEW's last match of 2019. AEW Dynamite will be taking Christmas day off, but in the meantime, there has been plenty of rumors that have come up.
In today's AEW Rumor Roundup, we'll cover whether Marty Scurll is coming to AEW, why Awesome Kong has had no matches since her debut at Double or Nothing and more details on the backstage fights between Excalibur and Jimmy Havoc.
#5 Why Awesome Kong is rarely wrestling in AEW
The last time Awesome Kong was actually in action was all the way back at Double or Nothing where she made a surprise appearance in a match that also included Nyla Rose, Britt Baker, and Kylie Rae. The only other time was at All Out when she was part of the Women's Casino Battle Royale.
For the most part, she serves as defacto bodyguard/enforcer for Brandi Rhodes. That has now evolved into the Nightmare Collective where she and Brandi have been attacking other female AEW stars. They recently inducted a "fan" into the group by shaving her hair.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio says that the reason why Awesome Kong hasn't been in the ring since Double or Nothing is because she is physically limited. He said, (H/T WrestleTalk)
"See, the deal with Kong is that you know, Kong’s beat up and there’s not a lot she can really do in the ring. So you do stuff like this because Kong’s kinda famous and you can do things where she’s kinda hidden and stuff. She doesn’t do long matches like everybody else.”
It should also be noted that Awesome Kong also helps coach AEW's female talent. For the most part, Awesome Kong's role is important as she is helping to lay the foundation for the next generation of female wrestlers.
#4 Joey Janela's Dropped Feud
While the mainstream audience may not be aware, Joey Janela was in a relationship with Penelope Ford for several years before they both landed in AEW. They were actually a pair with Ford serving as his valet/manager. Since their arrival in AEW, Ford actually began a relationship with Kip Sabian, which has now been converted into an angle.
During an interview with Golden Boy, Kip Sabian presented a new gimmick as an overbearing, self-indulgent heel with Ford by his side. Ford then referenced Janela when she said,
"Why be bad. When you could be SUPERbad?"
From that statement, it was quite evident that Joey Janela was being set up to feud with Kip Sabian. Upon closer examination, it would have made perfect sense, but Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this feud was dropped. He said,
“Right now there are no plans for a Joey Janela vs. Kip Sabian program. Penelope Ford just slipped the line in on the PPV interview and when Janela tweeted that he wouldn’t do that program, that was legit.”
This doesn't mean that the trio couldn't be involved in a storyline down the line. Joey Janela is still involved in a feud with Shawn Spears, which has yet to be concluded.
#3 Britt Baker's Departure from ROH
Before Britt Baker arrived in AEW, she was still booked with several other pro wrestling organizations. One of them was ROH (Ring of Honor). Lately, ROH has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, with the unfortunate firing of Kelly Klein. As a result, there has been a falling out. According to Fightful Select, shocking details have been revealed about Britt Baker's departure from the company.
It's been reported that her departure from ROH was handled very poorly. While Baker has several dates still left with the company, those dates were cut once she signed with AEW. People were told backstage by Joe Koff that ROH didn't need to meet the originally agreed upon dates.
In another surprising turn, Baker showed up to the ROH event not realizing that she had been cut from the show.Talent backstage had to plead with management about giving Baker a 5 minute match with Kelly Klein.
ROH has seen a poor round of publicity ever since the Kelly Klein incident. In the case of Britt Baker, she is now on a national cable TV network and her work is seen every other week by countless people.
#2 Marty Scurll's AEW and ROH Status
Ever since AEW was announced, it was expected that Marty Scurll would follow once his ROH contract expired. Scurll was very much a member of The Elite as he made many appearances on Being The Elite. Ïn the months since, Scurll has been referencing AEW by saying "All my friends are dead. What the **** is AEW?”
Now, things might be a little different. According to a recent report, ROH has offered Scurll a huge contract and Tony Khan is no longer offering "big money deals" to future talent right now.
It should be noted that Scurll's ROH contract ended last month, but he is still appearing for the promotion on December 15th at ROH's Final Battle.
In another surprising twist, Scurll also hinted today via Instagram that recently released WWE Superstar Luke Harper could be part of his group Villain Enterprises.
The question does arise about what Scurll's future plans are. Would a person who is leaving ROH start insinuating another former WWE star would be joining his group? Scurll does own the trademark and there's nothing stopping him from taking it with him to AEW, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
#1 More details on AEW Backstage fights
A few weeks back, it was reported that both Excalibur and Jimmy Havoc were involved in a physical altercation during Tony Schiavone's birthday at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood. According to Web Is Jericho, witnesses said that Havoc was "very drunk and tried to punch Excalibur, but missed," and added, "Excalibur subsequently choked him [Havoc] until security intervened."
Now, more details have been revealed about the fight. According to Fightful Select, "There's a cell phone video that a lot of the AEW roster has seen of the fight. Both men were intoxicated, and Excalibur put Havoc in a choke hold. Havoc them punched Excalibur and even scraped him with a fork."
It should also be noted that both men have settled their differences and things have gone back to normal. While it was an unfortunate skirmish, it's now business as usual. If anything, Jimmy Havoc is actually benefiting from it with AEW officials "fining him" $10,000 for stapling people during the Battle Royale.
Apparently, he didn't learn his lesson and did the same to Brandon Cutler during an episode of AEW Dark.
Hopefully, the hatchet between Havoc and Excalibur have been buried once and for all.
