Tag: Ethan Page

Opening Bell: Full Gear week, plus a Mizpology

Get set for the week in WWE and AEW with Opening Bell: quick previews of Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage.

Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week we’ve just begun.

WWE Raw preview – Monday, November 14, KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY

Any show with “Yum!” in the name of the venue can’t help but appear fun (and yes, we know that’s an actual part of the company’s name). What could be truly entertaining is seeing The Miz apologize for what he’s done with regard to Dexter Lumis. But will it be a sincere act of contrition, or simply to save his own hide? History doesn’t make the former a favorite, let’s just say that.

Finn Balor attempted to accept Seth Rollins‘ open challenge for the United States Championship last week but had those plans derailed by The O.C. This week he’ll get his shot at Rollins … but not for the title. Oh well.

Also, Matt Riddle will continue his ongoing feud with Alpha Academy when he goes one-on-one with Chad Gable. We don’t have anything witty to add to this one, so we’ll just say it sounds like a good matchup and there will probably be bongo/weed jokes of some sort involved.

AEW Dynamite preview – Wednesday, November 16, Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, CT

Ayyyyy let’s get some mortgages everyone! Jokes aside, AEW is trying to come into Full Gear hot as it heads to Connecticut for the final Dynamite before Saturday’s PPV.

Two big multi-person matches are on tap. Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli will team up to face Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara just three days before all four of them throw down for Jericho’s ROH World Championship. Plus Death Triangle, which has had some stirrings of internal dissent lately, tries to get on the same page as they take on Top Flight and AR Fox.

(And they may need to be if a certain trio of shadowbanned stars are coming back at Full Gear.)

We’ll hear from both Jon Moxley and MJF ahead of their titanic main event in Newark. The Acclaimed will debut their new music video. Plus more:

WWE SmackDown preview – Friday, November 18, XL Center, Hartford, CT

Wow, Connecticut is the center of the pro wrestling world this week, at least for a few days! We know a bit more about what’s going to be in store on SmackDown than we often do at the beginning of the week as well.

For starters, the first round of the SmackDown World Cup isn’t over yet, so Butch and Sami Zayn will have their bout this Friday. It’s also an extension of the beef between the Bloodline and the Brawling Brutes, which just heated up again last week. Another first round match will pit Ricochet against Mustafa Ali in what’s sure to be a high-flying encounter.

In the women’s division, Shotzi earned her shot at Ronda Rousey by emerging from a Six-Pack Challenge match last week, but she immediately ran afoul of the champ and her BFF Shayna Baszler. She’ll get a chance at some payback on SmackDown, at least when it comes to Baszler.

AEW Rampage preview – Friday, November 18, Prudential Center, Newark

‘Twas the night before Full Gear, and we have a sense that pretty much everyone will be stirring as the final teeth on the gears lock into place. And there’s a crazy dream match of the type you can hardly believe is on U.S. TV to boot: Eddie Kingston and Ortiz vs. Jun Akiyama and Kunosuke Takeshita. Seriously, read that again and go “wow.”

We actually don’t know what else is on the Rampage slate, but one assumes there might be more tournament matches, and perhaps it will be confirmed The Elite is returning. It’s a Rampage that has more than the typical amount of intrigue, for sure.

Breaking down the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament bracket

We’re ready to tear up our bracket after Dynamite just like we often do after the first day of March Madness if we’ve got this wrong.

World championship eliminator matches, where a challenger has to beat the champ to get a shot at the champ’s title, aren’t cool. You know what is cool, though? Tournaments for a world championship opportunity, which is exactly what is kicking off this week with the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament.

The format couldn’t be simpler. It’s eight men vying for a chance to take on the AEW World Champion — which could be current holder Jon Moxley or MJF by then —at Winter is Coming in December. The first round matches are this week, one on Dynamite and three on Rampage, with the semifinals following next week ahead of the final, which will be part of the Full Gear card on Saturday, Nov 19.

None of the eight competitors have held the AEW World Championship, though several have had previous title shots. There are some of the usual suspects but some refreshing new faces as well.

Let’s break down the bracket ahead of the first round and see where we land.

First round: Eddie Kingston vs. Ethan Page

Eddie Kingston has a history with Moxley as both friend and foe, and another championship opportunity for him would likely be received warmly by AEW fans. Yet it feels like Ethan Page, who always felt like he was taking a backseat to partner Scorpio Sky in Men of the Year, may finally have found his footing in The Firm.

Is AEW ready to push Page harder? Giving him a win here only really makes sense if the company is committed to at least having him in the final. It’s hard to say for sure but it certainly might be his time.

Prediction: Page advances

First round: Bandido vs. Rush

This is a nice showcase for both men, put particularly Bandido since he is going to be sticking around as an AEW regular. He is a fantastic talent who should only get more love from the fans as they are exposed to more of his work.

Rush is great too, but has been on TV a fair amount over the past few months. A win for him is logical if Kingston wins the other quarterfinal on this side of the bracket, but since we’re rolling with Page, we’ll go with the face here.

Prediction: Bandido advances

First round: Lance Archer vs. Ricky Starks

Though Lance Archer hasn’t consistently been on AEW TV for a while, the company always treats him like a big deal when he’s around. Thus, his inclusion in the tournament is fine even though he’s barely been on Dynamite or Rampage for months.

So he’s moving on for sure, right? Not so fast. AEW just had Ricky Starks cut a promo last week touting his entrance in the tourney and positioning him for bigger things. Like Page, Starks is a very talented performer who simply hasn’t been given the push to prove it. It would be disappointing if AEW went to the effort to highlight that just to have him lose in the first round, whereas a victory over Archer would be huge for Starks.

Prediction: Starks advances

First round: Brian Cage vs. Dante Martin

This feels like the clearest first round match of the four. Brian Cage has recently been back on TV quite a bit, albeit on the ROH side as part of The Embassy. Dante Martin is the perennial “look great in a losing effort” guy and that would apply here once again.

The x-factor would be if Cage’s Embassy beef with Samoa Joe and Wardlow spills over into this bout, which could definitely happen. Otherwise, Cage should move forward.

Prediction: Cage advances

Semifinals

Page vs. Bandido wouldn’t really be a battle of contrasting styles as much as a showdown between two wrestlers who can do a little bit of everything. We haven’t even mentioned The Firm giving Page the edge, but it’s not hard to picture the faction lending the hand he’d need to overcome Bandido, who doesn’t have obvious friends to come to his aid since he’s still new to AEW. That could be the difference.

On the other side of the bracket, Starks and Cage have history as former Team Taz members who eventually had a falling out. Things are different now since Cage was (sort of) the fan favorite when he left the group and Starks is now in that position. Cage also has a team backing him whereas Starks doesn’t, but maybe this is where Joe and Wardlow show up to counter The Embassy. Either way, Starks making the final would be great for him.

Prediction: Page, Starks advance

Final

If it is indeed Page and Starks in the final, it could be a bellwether for what goes down in Full Gear’s main event. A Page victory makes more sense if it’s Moxley who retains, seeing as it would make for a more classic heel vs. face title match at Winter is Coming.

That said, MJF has been showing face tendencies of his own, and while it’s possible he’s simply going to show his true colors after he dethrones Mox — in which case having Starks win this tournament would be the way to go, particularly since Max and Ricky would be a really fun battle of dueling promos for a few weeks — it’s just as likely AEW wants him to keep leaning into that for a bit longer.

As well, MJF has had a falling out with The Firm that could carry over for another month if he wins the AEW World Championship and Page emerges here. For that reason, Page going all the way is the outcome we’ve talked ourselves into.

Prediction: Page wins the tournament

AEW Rampage results: Wardlow welcomes Matt Taven to AEW

Check out full AEW Rampage results for the live episode on October 28, 2022 from Uncasville, CT.

It’s another live version of AEW Rampage, the best possible kind. And if you’re going to do a live show on a Friday night, you might want to bring a title match to the party.

So that’s exactly what the fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT are getting. Mr. Mayhem himself, Wardlow, is set to put his TNT Championship on the line, and hey, it’s even on TNT this time.

The challenger, Matt Taven, is fairly new to AEW, having only recently arrived with the rest of The Kingdom. But Wardlow isn’t likely to cut him any slack for that, as he’ll look to treat Taven to a front row seat to the Powerbomb Symphony.

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley is also in action against “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard, though that should be light work for Mox. But this is a legit card, so let’s see how it all plays out.

AEW Rampage results in 30 seconds:

  • Jon Moxley def. Matt Menard by submission
  • Stokely Hathaway says he has a tougher test from The Firm for Moxley, challenging him to take on Lee Moriarty next week on Dynamite
  • Jade Cargill cuts a promo
  • Keith Lee squashes Serpentico by pinfall in about 10 seconds, then has to answer some questions from The Acclaimed about the whereabouts of Billy Gunn … who has been kidnapped by Swerve Strickland and tortured with pliers
  • Tay Melo def. Madison Rayne by pinfall
  • Ethan Page says MJF decided by himself to change plans and try to do everything by himself, but Page reminds him that Max didn’t become the No. 1 contender by himself, so they changed plans and did a favor for Jon Moxley … and Page plans to win the AEW World Championship eliminator tournament
  • Wardlow def. Matt Taven by pinfall to retain the AEW TNT Championship
  • The Kingdom attacks Wardlow after the bell, but Samoa Joe comes to the rescue … only to be attacked in turn by Powerhouse Hobbs and The Embassy

AEW Rampage results: The Kingdom comes to Canada

Get quick AEW Rampage results for its Canada debut on October 14, 2022 from Toronto.

O Canada! You’ve got AEW Rampage in your area for the first time. Good for you.

Unlike most weeks, this one wasn’t taped after AEW Dynamite on Wednesday, but instead was recorded as its own show on Thursday from the same venue (Coca-Cola Coliseum) that hosted Dynamite. Different, but yet not so different at the same time, as spoilers were out there.

But you didn’t read ’em? Cool, then we got you covered here with a quick recap of what went down.

AEW Rampage results in 30 seconds:

  • Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli def. The Butcher and The Blade
  • Mox and Claudio tell Hangman Adam Page he’s “gonna get stepped on” if he doesn’t step up next Tuesday on Dynamite
  • Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee air out some of their differences in front of Renee Paquette, with Lee saying his partner is “swerving into the wrong lane”
  • Dark Order’s interview is crashed by Jose The Assistant, so 10 sends him to tell Rush he wants a match next week, and Stu Grayson is back
  • The Jericho Appreciation Society comes out to gloat, and Daniel Garcia says he is a sports entertainer, but Dalton Castle says he’s willing to break Chris Jericho’s back to give fans a ROH World Champion they deserve
  • Nyla Rose def. Anna Jay by pinfall, then fights off an attack by Jade Cargill and the Baddies
  • Ariya Daivari says he wasn’t trying to recruit Hook, he was trying to buy the FTW Championship, but now he’ll take it from Hook instead
  • Ethan Page def. Isiah Kassidy by pinfall
  • Best Friends wants a shot at Death Triangle and the Trios titles on Tuesday, and Orange Cassidy says he didn’t know Dynamite was on a different night next week
  • Shawn Spears and FTR def. The Embassy by pinfall
  • Mike Bennett and Matt Taven are introduced by Maria Kanellis-Bennett as The Kingdom and have designs on the IWGP tag team titles, but when they tam with The Embassy to attack FTR and Spears, it brings Wardlow and Samaoa Joe to the ring to drive them off

AEW Rampage results: Rush might have a Hangman problem

Get quick AEW Rampage results for the September 30, 2022 episode from Philadelphia.

One thing about AEW Rampage is that it keeps things moving.

Wrestling Junkie was on hand for AEW Dynamite and Rampage in Philadelphia on Wednesday and saw it for ourselves. Yes, it still definitely feels like a ‘B’ show, but it’s tight because its only an hour, so there’s no real down time. It’s match to segment to match at a brisk pace.

The Philadelphia crowd stayed pretty live too, even though it was hanging in through more than three hours of wrestling by the end of the night. But Philly always represents, legitimately one of the best wrestling markets anywhere.

In any case, even though we’ve known for two days what would happen tonight, it’s going to be fun to watch it back and check everything out. Let’s do it up.

AEW Rampage results in 30 seconds:

  • The Acclaimed def. Private Party and The Butcher and The Blade to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship
  • The Gunn Club doubles down on their taunts to FTR form last week
  • Jade Cargill complains about her lack of competition, but maybe she’s getting some in the form of Nyla Rose
  • Lee Moriarty def. Fuego Del Sol by submission, and W. Morrissey roughs up Fuego some after the bell
  • Hangman Adam Page says he’s looking forward to his world title shot, and Andrade El Idolo comes by to try to recruit 10 again … and challenge him for his mask; Ethan Page also stops by to suggest Matt Hardy is contract tampering with Private Party
  • Jamie Hayter def. Willow Nightingale by pinfall
  • Maybe Wardlow and Samoa Joe are going to stay a tag team?
  • Hook comes out to shut up Ryan Nemeth by beating him down and choking him out, and the Trustbusters leave a contract for Hook that he ignores
  • Rush def. John Silver by pinfall, Dark Order tries to stop a La Faccion Ingobernable beatdown, but it’s Hangman who finally clears the ring, throwing down with Rush and teasing a match for the future (meaning next Wednesday at Dynamite) … and then giving Jose The Assistant the Buckshot

AEW Rampage quick results: Samoa Joe slays the Technical Beast

Get full results from the AEW Rampage episode on September 16, 2022, as the final pieces of the Grand Slam card fall into place.

Before you can hit a grand slam, you have to load the bases first, right? For AEW Dynamite Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium next week, the principle is somewhat the same, except that in this case it’s loading the card, which is something tonight’s Rampage should help finish.

There are also some decent matches in their own right on this Rampage, including Samoa Joe putting his ROH title on the line against Josh Woods. So this isn’t just an hour of setup, folks. Let’s dive in and see what’s what, not live this week as it was taped Wednesday after Dynamite.

AEW Rampage results in 30 seconds:

  • Darby Allin def. Matt Hardy by pinfall … but Brody King lays out Hardy after the bell, calls out Allin and Sting and lets them know the House of Black isn’t finished
  • Eddie Kingston clears up the reasons he doesn’t like Sammy Guevara, and it’s because he simply thinks Sammy is a rotten human being
  • Claudio Castagnoli is confident Wheeler Yuta will win back the ROH Pure Championship, and says it’s OK that Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley will face each other next week because no matter what, the BCC will have two world champions … and gets a world title challenge from Chris Jericho
  • Jade Cargill thinks she has no challengers left, but Diamante is willing to test that idea and says she is bringing the “baddest bitch” with her
  • Penelope Ford def. Willow Nightingale by submission
  • Hangman Adam Page apologizes to his Dark Order buddies for losing the Trios Championship final, and Andrade El Idolo shows up to say he’s going to eliminate all of them from the Battle Royale at Grand Slam
  • Ethan Page def. Danhausen by pinfall
  • Ricky Starks admits Powerhouse Hobbs threw him off his game by putting The Factory on his way, but says Hobbs has his full attention now and he will see Powerhouse in New York
  • Samoa Joe def. Josh Woods by pinfall to retain his ROH World Television Championship, then gets assistance from Wardlow to fight off Woods and Tony Nese

Opening Bell: Tribal Chief defends his gold, Jericho has his hair at stake

Get set for the week in WWE and AEW with Opening Bell: quick previews of Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage for the week of June 13.

Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week ahead.

WWE Raw preview – Monday, June 13, INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, KS

The Judgment Day received a big shakeup last week, with Finn Balor joining and then immediately assisting with the ouster of Edge from the group. Now Edge is out with a (storyline) injury, so there’s no fear of immediate reprisals. That leaves the stable free to plot a new course, which WWE says it will do Monday night.

Speaking of injuries, Cody Rhodes suffered one of the more notable ones in recent memory, and he’s now out recuperating from successful surgery to repair his torn pec. But while the American Nightmare said he was ready to move on from Seth Rollins, the Visionary had different ideas, attacking Rhodes one last time for now. WWE says Rollins will “answer” for his attack, so look for him to possibly be booked against some tough competition.

AEW Dynamite Road Rager preview – Wednesday, June 15, Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis

Once upon a time it felt like AEW was getting a little carried away with themed episodes of Dynamite, but it’s cut back on them to the point where Road Rager is a bit of a breath of fresh air. The card is suitably loaded, headlined by a three-way Ladder Match for the tag team titles, with Jurassic Express defending against both The Hardys and Young Bucks.

Chris Jericho is also putting something on the line against Ortiz … but it’s his hair, not a championship. The former Inner Circle teammates turned bitter rivals will do battle, and someone will be bald when it’s over.

Also advertised for Wednesday night:

  • An All-Atlantic Championship qualifier sees Miro go head to head with Ethan Page.
  • Wardlow battles 20 of the plaintiffs in the security guard class action lawsuit. No, really.

WWE SmackDown preview – Friday, June 17, Target Center, Minneapolis

This is a big one. After jumping through several hoops to get the attention of Roman Reigns, Riddle finally got what he wanted by defeating Sami Zayn last week in a match that stipulated he’d get a Undisputed WWE Universal Championship shot if he won. Can Riddle get some payback for his buddy Randy and win some serious gold? Probably not, but you won’t want to miss it just in case he pulls it off.

Also expected for this week’s show:

  • Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin will meet in a Last Laugh Match, which we assume will end the feud between them, one way or another.
  • After running into travel issues last Friday, Max Dupri will reveal his first recruit for Maximum Male Models.

AEW Rampage preview – Friday, June 17, Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis (taped)

Rampage has been live more often than not the past few weeks, but this week’s episode reverts to its more typical pattern of being taped at the Dynamite show for the week, which in this case is in St. Louis.

AEW hasn’t officially announced anything yet for this episode, but we’ll update this post as soon as there’s something set.

Who’s in the running for the new AEW All-Atlantic Championship?

See who is in contention to be the first ever winner of the AEW All-Atlantic Championship when its awarded at Forbidden Door.

When AEW announced it was revealing a new title during the June 8 episode of Dynamite, most fans expected it was going to be a trios championship, as the promotion has put more of an emphasis on three-person teams than most. Instead, it introduced the AEW All-Atlantic Championship, a new title for its men’s division.

In the finest pro wrestling tradition, the inaugural winner is being decided via a tournament — and the first match already took place Wednesday night, with Pac defeating Buddy Matthews. There are still three other qualifying matches yet to take place:

  • Ethan Page vs. Miro – Page hasn’t had much to do as of late except for being part of the mixed trios match at Double or Nothing, while Miro has just returned from injury and already looks like his usual, dominant self. This match will take place on Wednesday, June 15 at Road Rager (a themed episode of Dynamite).
  • Penta Oscuro vs. Malakai Black – This is an offshoot of the continuing issues between Death Triangle and the House of Black, and could also be on the Road Rager card. Now that Matthews is out, the likelihood of Black advancing figures to be even higher.
  • Two yet-to-be-named NJPW wrestlers will meet in the other quarterfinal. New Japan has so far only announced that its entrants will be announced soon. It does have a big event, Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, coming up this weekend, and could put the qualifier on that show.
Image credit: All Elite Wrestling

What’s interesting about the All-Atlantic Championship tournament is that instead of having semifinals and a final, all four first-round winners will meet in one four-way match at Forbidden Door. That spices things up a tad and also makes the tourney easier to pull off from a logistical standpoint given the NJPW involvement.

Speaking of which, could a NJPW star be the inaugural winner? Though several AEW championships are expected to be on the line at Forbidden Door when the card is finalized, the thought of someone who could only make sporadic appearances on AEW shows holding one of them feels far-fetched. But a new title is a whole different ballgame, and fans might be a bit more accepting of someone outside the promotion holding it to start.

We’ll find out which way AEW is leaning when the inaugural All-Atlantic Champion is crowned at Forbidden Door on Sunday, June 26 in Chicago.

Paige VanZant expected to be added to AEW Double or Nothing card

A match featuring former UFC star Paige VanZant is “listed” for AEW Double or Nothing in Las Vegas on May 29.

It’s not definite yet, but MMA star Paige VanZant could be making her AEW in-ring debut this Sunday at Double or Nothing.

On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said a match pairing VanZant with either Scorpio Sky or Ethan Page against Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti is “listed” for the pay-per-view, which takes place May 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (h/t to Andrew Ravens of WrestlingNews.co for the transcription).

They’re still going to do something with Sammy Guevara and Scorpio Sky. So the plan for sure was a mixed tag. …

They said they were gonna do it until they get the match they want, and they made it very clear the match they wanted was Sammy and Tay against Paige VanZant and Scorpio Sky or Ethan Page, they want that mixed tag. Unless something changed, the mixed tag is it….I was outright told over the weekend that it was listed. Until it’s announced it’s not announced, they could do it a different way. But, I was actually outright told that the match is tentatively scheduled for the pay-per-view.

VanZant’s most recent appearance on AEW programming came on the April 27 episode of AEW Dynamite, when she assisted Sky in winning the TNT Championship from Guevara in a Ladder match. The former UFC fighter was said to have signed with AEW in March, but she has yet to compete in an official match.

VanZant sparked some speculation of her own by posting new clips of some of her pro wrestling training on Twitter this weekend.

The rivalry between Sky and Guevara has included Sky’s Men of the Year partner Page and American Top Team head Dan Lambert, as well as Guevara’s girlfriend and fellow AEW wrestler Conti. But it has been somewhat confusing at times, with Sky’s side demanding a mixed tag team match — that would presumably involve VanZant — without spelling out exactly who would be in it or where it would take place.

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Double or Nothing would be a perfect time for it, if AEW feels it has time on what is already a pretty loaded card. The promotion has live episodes of Dynamite and Rampage set for Las Vegas this week that should provide an answer as to whether fans will finally see VanZant as a pro wrestler during the holiday weekend.