Tag: Thunder Rosa

AEW Collision results 12/16/23: Eddie Kingston, Claudio Castagnoli stay alive

Also on AEW Collision, Thunder Rosa made her return to form a surprising alliance.

We’re getting down to the nitty gritty in the Continental Classic tonight on AEW Collision. For the Blue League, especially, several competitors are in must-win situations, particularly Eddie Kingston.

Maybe he wouldn’t be under so much pressure if he wouldn’t have put both of his titles up for grabs in this tournament, but he did and there’s no going back now. To get them back and become the first ever AEW Continental Champion too, he’s got to go on and win it all.

Kingston made that more difficult for himself by losing his first two round robin matches, but a victory over his archrival Claudio Castagnoli kept him alive. Kingston will need to win against Brody King tonight to still have a chance, and as luck would have it, Castagnoli is in the very same boat against group leader Andrade El Idolo.

All of which is to say that this is an important night in the Continental Classic, and there’s also a title defense by Orange Cassidy, always a good time. Let’s do this.

AEW Collision Winter is Coming results from Garland, Texas:

  • Claudio Castagnoli def. Andrade El Idolo by pinfall in a Continental Classic Blue League match, utilizing a low blow while the ref is distracted to set up the finish, and Claudio stays alive to advance from the Blue League
  • A highlight/promo video combo takes us back through the Continental Classic Gold
  • Abadon def. Jazmin Allure by pinfall in a quick squash match, but …
  • After the match, Julia Hart appears to taunt Abadon with the TBS Championship again, and when Abadon decides to just attack Hart, Skye Blue comes to the ring and helps Hart; in turn, Abadon gets some unexpected assistance from a returning Thunder Rosa, and Abadon shakes Rosa’s hand after they clear the ring
  • Renee Paquette gets a word with The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass, who are pretty mad about getting attacked by the Devil and his goons a few weeks ago; Top Flight and Action Andretti stop by to issue a title challenge, and since the champs are in a fighting week, they accept for next week
  • Orange Cassidy def. Bryan Keith by pinfall to retain the AEW International Champion
  • Miro says he’s done avoiding people to please his wife and is ready to kill everyone
  • Roderick Strong says he thinks he’s found his next “victim” in Komander
  • FTR dares the House of Black to come out and face them, accusing the House of jealousy of their extended run of tag team success; Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews appear on the big screen to repeat the claim that no one in the back will save them and only the House loves Cash Wheeler, and they punctuate their point by burning a picture of Dax Harwood, his wife and his daughter
  • A hype video promotes the recent run of Keith Lee, including his assertion that Shane Taylor was not “him”
  • Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale def. Diamante and Mercedes Martinez in a wild Texas Street Fight that is the wildest AEW women’s division match in some time
  • Paquette talks to “Timeless” Toni Storm and Mariah May, with the latter ending up disappointed that the former says she’s too busy to watch her debut match
  • Brian Cage def. Kari Wright by pinfall in a quick squash match
  • Cage and the Mogul Embassy (sans Swerve Strickland) are in a celebratory mood, but Keith Lee tells them they they can tell “him” that his patience is running out; hmm …
  • Eddie Kingston def. Daniel Garcia by pinfall in a Continental Classic Blue League match
  • Bryan Danielson def. Brody King by pinfall in a Continental Classic Blue League match

Thunder Rosa injury update: ‘3 more weeks’ from potential AEW return

Doc Sampson gave Thunder Rosa high marks in her injury rehab and good news on when she might be back in an AEW ring.

A former AEW champion is getting much closer to a return to the ring.

It’s been a year-long road to recovery for former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa, who hasn’t wrestled since she was part of a six-woman tag match taped on Aug. 10, 2022 due to a disc issue in her back. However, her heavy presence in the promotion for AEW Collision had led to speculation that there was light at the end of her tunnel.

Rosa herself has provided that light, posting a video to social media where she and AEW’d ringside physician, Dr. Michael Sampson, discuss the status of her recovery. Dr. Sampson reveals that Rosa will be taking part in a five-minute “mini match” next week to see how she feels, and if all is well, could be cleared soon afterward.

Toward the end of the video, Rosa suggests that it could be “three more weeks,” and Dr. Sampson replies, “I think that’s fair.”

Rosa will return to an AEW that in some ways is very different than it was a year ago with the addition of Collision and various moving parts around the roster. Yet some things will be very familiar: Hikaru Shida, who Rosa took on during her first reign in an unsuccessful title challenge at All Out 2020, is once again AEW Women’s World Champion.

There’s also a question of how Rosa will be accepted back into the locker room, or if she has some lingering bitterness over some of the sentiment that was shown during “AEW: All Access,” when some of the top women’s talent was clearly upset that Rosa initially didn’t have to relinquish her championship when she stepped away due to her injury — though AEW later reversed course on that decision.

In any case, it will be good to have another star back in the mix, and it sounds like it may not be long until those Collision ads promoting Rosa actually make sense.

Who will appear on AEW: Collision?

If AEW really is doing a hard brand split, the Collision announcement may have provided some clues as to who will appear on that show.

The Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront presentation officially announced AEW: Collision on Wednesday, after months of speculation. The show will launch on Saturday, June 17, and air Saturdays from 8-10 p.m. ET.

Interestingly, the press release for Collision advertised AEW wrestlers who will “headline” the show, some of whom have been absent from programming in 2023: Thunder Rosa, Miro, Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs and Andrade El Idolo.

Hobbs has maintained a constant presence on AEW programming, including claiming the TNT Championship. Meanwhile, Samoa Joe has been a consistent figure on Ring of Honor, so joining Collision gives him the opportunity to reach a much bigger audience again.

Miro returned to AEW programming on May 10, marking his first appearance since All Out 2022. While he worked some non-wrestling gigs during this time, Fightful Select (subscription required) previously reported that no creative was pitched for his return. Obviously, with two hours of television to fill, it opened this opportunity for him.

Fightful Select reported in April that Rosa, who has been out of action since All Out, may need back surgery, while El Idolo has been sidelined since November with a torn pectoral muscle. Both seemed far away from returning to the ring anytime soon.

Like Miro, however, Rosa returned on the May 10 episode of Dynamite to enter Tony Khan’s office for an unknown reason. With one month until Collision debuts, Rosa’s status could undoubtedly change.

One thing that stood out, however, was the glaring omission of CM Punk. Rumors of his return to AEW for Collision have been circulating for a long time, and it’s no surprise that his return wasn’t announced in a press release. However, it wouldn’t be shocking if his comeback was revealed sooner than later to piggyback off today’s news.

With reports of AEW executing a hard brand split, it seems these wrestlers will be the faces of Collision. The company’s large talent pool will undoubtedly welcome more names as the hype for this new show’s premiere starts.

Thunder Rosa explains what bothered her about dropping AEW Women’s World Championship

It wasn’t that she was asked to relinquish the title, but that she didn’t get a chance to go on TV and explain it herself.

When Thunder Rosa announced on the Aug. 24, 2022 episode of AEW Dynamite that she would be unable to defend her title for some time due to injury, it initially didn’t seem like such a big deal. An interim championship was created, something for which there was a precedent in AEW — the AEW World Championship for the men had gone through the same thing earlier in the year.

But as Rosa’s absence dragged on, it became a bone of contention within the women’s division that the “real” championship was in limbo while she was out. The “AEW: All Access” series that’s been airing after Dynamite on Wednesday nights has only made that clearer, with a number of wrestlers (particularly Britt Baker, who is a focal point of the show) expressing their frustrations with the situation.

Eventually, AEW CEO and GM Tony Khan decided to strip Rosa of her title in late November and make the interim title reigns of Toni Storm and Jamie Hayter part of the lineal championship history. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time since there was no ETA on Rosa’s return (and she still hasn’t returned to active competition).

Yet there’s another side to the story, and it’s an important one. Rosa got a chance to explain her feelings on being forced to relinquish the championship during her latest Friday co-host stint on the SiriusXM Busted Open show, and she said that what bothered her most wasn’t Khan’s decision but the fact that she didn’t have a chance to go on TV and address it.

“When I got the news that I wasn’t going to keep the title, it like really caught me by surprise, and I was like ‘oh today is the day, OK,'” Rosa said. “I wasn’t able to go. I wasn’t there to be able to get in the ring and say ‘guys, unfortunately we made a decision, here is the title, thank you very much for letting me have the opportunity to represent’ … That opportunity wasn’t given to me.”

Rosa reiterated that she feels it’s important that AEW focuses on the women’s division, which it historically hasn’t always been great about doing in terms of time devoted to women’s matches per show. That said, the current storyline pitting Hayter, Baker and others against The Outcasts is the most broad, cohesive narrative the division has ever had, which has been good to see.

As for Rosa, while her future with AEW remains uncertain, but hopefully her chance to explain her own disappointment with the way the title transfer was handled will help smooth over some of the discontent her fellow wrestlers obviously felt for a decent chunk of 2022.

AEW Battle of the Belts III results: 3 titles on the line

Read full results for AEW Battle of the Belts III on Aug. 6, 2022, with three championship matches on the card.

Hey there! You know what’s great after an entertaining week of pro wrestling? Even more wrestling, that’s what. AEW is obliging us with Battle of the Belts III, its quarterly card that features nothing but title matches.

All three bouts on this particular show should be fun. Wardlow puts his TNT Championship on the line against Jay Lethal, who’s on a bit of a roll as of late. Thunder Rosa, a fighting champion as always, may have her hands full with Jamie Hayter.

(As a side note, how jealous would Britt Baker be if Hayter actually wins?)

And ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli should get a stiff test from everyone’s favorite overseas import Konosuke Takeshita. A hard-hitting affair? We should say so.

All this on free TV, what could be better? Yet it’s on Saturday night, and we’re well aware that unlike us, some of you have social lives. But we’re here recapping it for you, so whether you check this article out live on Saturday or sometime down the road, we’ll have all the details.

AEW Battle of the Belts 3 results in 30 seconds:

  • Wardlow def. Jay Lethal by pinfall to retain his TNT Championship, but gets attacked after the bell and driven through a table by Satnam Singh
  • Jamie Hayter vs. Thunder Rosa – AEW Women’s World Championship Match

Scroll down for full details on every match.

AEW Dynamite Fight for the Fallen results: Danielson’s return hits a snag, Hook takes his shot

Get complete AEW Dynamite Fight for the Fallen results from Worcester, Mass. on July 27, 2022.

Light the fuse, because it’s time for AEW Dynamite from Worcester, Mass. It’s another themed episode as well, as Fight for the Fallen looks to win fans over with what appears to be a loaded card.

For starters, Jon Moxley will put his AEW Interim World Championship on the line against Rush, who has looked very good in his limited time in the promotion. And in the main event, Bryan Danielson returns from injury, facing Daniel Garcia.

In-between, there’s a matchup between young aerial artists when Sammy Guevara takes on Dante Martin, and an FTW Championship Match that will see Ricky Starks defending against Danhausen.

Not too shabby, we’d say. Let’s get it!

AEW Dynamite Fight for the Fallen results in 60 seconds:

  • Jon Moxley def. Rush by submission to retain the AEW Interim World Championship, but …
  • … the Jericho Appreciation Society comes out and Chris Jericho makes a challenge to Mox, who accepts but only if he gets the Lionheart
  • Dante Martin thinks Sammy Guevara has gotten soft, but will have someone in his corner in case Tay Conti
  • Ricky Starks def. Danhausen by pinfall in a quick title defense of the FTW Championship, and calls for another challenger … and gets Hook
  • Hook def. Ricky Starks by submission to become the new FTW Champion
  • An emotional Starks says he deserves more than 40 seconds to talk for taking the FTW Championship to prominence, but he then gets ambushed by (now former?) tag team partner Powerhouse Hobbs
  • The Acclaimed are going to make the Gunn Club watch their music video to learn more about the match they’ll have on Friday
  • Sammy Guevara def. Dante Martin by pinfall, and Anna Jay helps Tay Conti take out Skye Blue until Ruby Soho, Eddie Kingston and Ortiz run to the rescue
  • Daniel Garcia wonders if Bryan Danielson has been getting sharper and better like he has
  • Sonjay Dutt gets talked into a trios match against Best Friends on Rampage, much to his chagrin
  • Jungle Boy speaks for the first time in weeks, exchanging personal insults with Christian Cage
  • The Young Bucks seem like they have something they want to say to Hangman Adam Page, but the Dark Order arrives to celebrate Page’s birthday, and the Bucks awkwardly depart
  • Swerve Strickland def. Tony Nese and Smart Mark Sterling by pinfall, but he and Keith Lee may have a problem with Nese and Josh Woods, who has laid out Lee backstage
  • The House of Black cuts a promo on Miro and Darby Allin, with Brody King challenging Allin to a Coffin Match
  • Thunder Rosa def. Miyu Yamashita by pinfall to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship
  • Daniel Garcia def. Bryan Danielson by submission as Danielson passes out in a Sharpshooter

Scroll down for more detailed AEW Dynamite Fight for the Fallen results, including every match and major in-ring segment.

AEW Rampage quick results: Royal Rampage finds a challenger for Jon Moxley

Get quick AEW Rampage results for the July 1 episode from Detroit, taped on July 29 after Blood and Guts.

What do you do with two wrestling rings that are in Little Caesars Arena for Blood and Guts? Make use of them during the AEW Rampage taping, of course.

The Royal Rampage that starts off this particular episode of Rampage comes with real stakes, as the winner gets a shot at Jon Moxley and his interim AEW World Championship. That’s a prize worth outlasting a bunch of other wrestlers to claim, for sure, and figures to take up a big chunk of this week’s show.

Also announced for this card are a tag team match between the Young Bucks and the NJPW duo of Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi, and a showdown between Nyla Rose and Toni Storm. Let’s get to it.

AEW Rampage results in 30 seconds:

  • Brody King wins the Royal Rampage, last eliminating Darby Allin, to earn a shot at Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley
  • Hook tells Alex Marvez that “anything essential is invisible to the eyes,” which kind of counts as an interview
  • Young Bucks def. Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi by pinfall
  • ROH champion Jonathan Gresham announces that his tag team match with Lee Moriarity against Tully Blanchard Enterprises, and Gresham says his name should be mentioned in any conversation about who is the best technical wrestler in the world
  • Toni Storm def. Nyla Rose by pinfall, and gets help from Thunder Rosa to fight off a post-match attack by Rose and Marina Shafir

AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door — Everything you need to know

Get ready for AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door with our preview, including predictions for each match, start time, how to watch and more.

Considering AEW is only three years old, the company still enjoys a fair amount of firsts. Not many, however, are as significant as AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, a pay-per-view being held in conjunction with Japan’s top pro wrestling promotion. Once only a dream in the minds of most wrestling fans, it’s about to become a reality in Chicago’s United Center.

That’s not to say the road to get here has been easy. The logistical hurdles in building a show between companies half a world apart have been apparent at times, with a good chunk of the card coming together only in the final week. Injuries haven’t been kind; in a perfect world, CM Punk, Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega would all be on this show.

Despite that, there are some tantalizing matchups of the kind many probably never dared imagine prior to this year. They begin with the interim AEW World Championship being contested between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi. With Punk out, one of them will carry the banner for AEW for the next few months, and even the possibility that it will be NJPW’s Ace is enough to be intriguing.

NJPW’s top title will be up for grabs as well. Jay White, who only recently secured the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship from Kazuchika Okada, now needs to defend it against not only the Rainmaker, but his friend Adam Cole and former AEW world champ Hangman Adam Page. Four-way matches are definitely not every fan’s cup of tea, but four performers of this caliber figure to make it compelling.

As the match count has made it to double digits, including a pre-show bout, the card figures to be close to final now. Keep reading for everything you need to know about AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door.

AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door

  • When: Sunday, June 26
  • Where: United Center, Chicago
  • Start time: 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT
  • How to watch: On PPV through Bleacher Report, or InDemand through cable or satellite providers, as well as in select movie theaters in the U.S. On Sky Deutschland in Germany, and on FITE TV internationally. In Japan, Forbidden Door will be available exclusively via NJPW World, with Japanese commentary.
  • Matches announced: 10 (including one on pre-show)

Here’s the updated AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door card after the June 15 Dynamite

Get the latest match card for the AEW and NJPW Forbidden Door event coming to Chicago on June 26.

With less than two weeks to go until AEW and NJPW collide at Forbidden Door at Chicago, this week’s AEW Dynamite figured to be a busy one for making more matches official. That’s exactly what happened, with several new bouts announced during the show.

Some emerged from actions that took place during the broadcast, like Orange Cassidy returning from injury to help stand against Will Ospreay and United Empire. Others were simply revealed, though it’s fair to say just about everything has at least some ties to what’s been going on in both companies.

Here’s where the Forbidden Door card stands as of the night of June 15:

  • Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Interim AEW World Championship Match

This was set up by the tournament that’s gone down over the past few weeks, with the winner of the interim championship expected to face CM Punk for the actual championship when he returns from injury.

  • Pac vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black or Penta Oscuro vs. Tomoaki Honma or Clark Connors or Tomohiro Ishii or Yoshinobu Kanemaru – AEW All-Atlantic Championship Match

Pac won his way into this four-way bout last week, and Miro did the same on Wednesday by defeating Ethan Page. Black and Penta will wrestle next week, and the Honma-Connors and Ishii-Kanemaru matches will take place during New Japan Road on June 20.

  • Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Minoru Suzuki vs. Wheeler Yuta, Shota Umino and Eddie Kingston

This match was announced by Jericho during Dynamite, right after he and the Jericho Appreciation Society attacked Moxley and Tanahashi.

  • Will Ospreay (champion) vs. Orange Cassidy – IWGP United States Championship Match

Ospreay and United Empire attempted another attack after Ospreay’s match with Dax Harwood, but Cassidy returned from injury in time to help fend them off.

  • Thunder Rosa (champion) vs. Toni Storm – AEW Women’s World Championship Match

Rosa helped even the odds during Storm’s victory over Dr. Britt Baker on Dynamite, taking care of Jamie Hayter. She then returned to the stage and pointed at Storm, insinuating that she’d get the title shot.

One match that did not get booked on Wednesday was new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White against anyone, as he turned down both Hangman Adam Page and Adam Cole for a bout at Forbidden Door.

All three men figure to be involved in some way, and other matches, like Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Bryan Danielson, have been teased as well. We’ll update things again as June 26 gets closer.

Thunder Rosa thinks the AEW Women’s World Champion should be on TV more, and it’s hard to disagree

A report that Thunder Rosa is frustrated with her lack of promotion and TV time as AEW women’s champ makes perfect sense.

A championship can elevate a wrestler if the company puts the proper effort behind it, and the champ can also elevate the title through hard work. When it comes to Thunder Rosa and the AEW Women’s World Championship, she’s apparently only feeling the love in one direction right now.

Andy Murray of WhatCulture cited sources close to Rosa while reporting this week that she “has become very frustrated with how little she has been onscreen.” As the most relevant example, Rosa wasn’t included in this week’s episode of Dynamite, while every other AEW champion was.

On top of that, Murray notes that Rosa was irked about not being invited to speak at the Double or Nothing post-media scrum on Sunday night after the pay-per-view — and time wasn’t a factor, since it lasted until after 3 a.m. ET. Rosa may have used an appearance there to call more attention to her plan to auction her eye-catching ring gear from the show to raise money for the families and victims of the Uvalde school shooting, an auction that is now underway.

If Rosa does have a gripe, it’s legit. Since winning the AEW Women’s World Championship from Britt Baker on the March 16 episode of Dynamite, she’s defended it twice: against Nyla Rose at Battle of the Belts II, and then against Serena Deeb at Double or Nothing. That’s fairly standard, but Rosa didn’t wrestle anyone else during that time, not did she show up on Dynamite or Rampage all that much.

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Rosa and Deeb put on one of Sunday night’s best matches from a pure wrestling standpoint, but the build-up to the bout was spotty at best, and then the champ didn’t appear on TV on Wednesday to capitalize on it. Some frustration on her part is easy to understand.

The relationship between a champion and their promotion is ideally a two-way street, with the titleholder representing the championship and the company to the best of their abilities and getting a spotlight on them in return. At least for now, that isn’t happening for Rosa, and it will be worth watching to see if AEW can change that in its upcoming shows.