- 2 years ago
Hello and welcome to the WrestleTalk News, I am Luke Owen and this… is wrestling news.
Our top story for today comes from last night’s AEW Dynamite, where Tony Khan revealed his gift for Sting’s retirement. No, it wasn’t a gold watch. No, it wasn’t TNA. No, it wasn’t the other Sting. It was instead his old rival, and the guy who put him on the map as a top babyface in this industry, Ric Flair.
A controversial signing for All Elite Wrestling - and one that has garnered some backlash online - but there have been rumours of Flair joining AEW for a few years now; back when Andrade El Idolo was looking for a manager in 2021 with persistent reports it would be revealed as Flair, who is his irl father-in-law.
Those plans fell apart following the airing of a Dark Side of the Ring episode about The Plane Ride From Hell, which made accusations of sexual harassment against Flair. Flair was dropped from a sponsor deal he was doing at the time, and Tommy Dreamer was suspended by Impact Wrestling for defending Flair on the episode.
So why bring Flair in now?
Well, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, it’s all about those TV contracts.
As we’ve seen with WWE for the last few weeks and months, NXT has been loading up with main roster talent in an effort to boost ratings which will, in turn, mean they will get a better TV deal during rights negotiation season.
And AEW are doing the same thing. There have been rumours and reports of a new deal for some time now, and Meltzer explains that Flair is another name being brought in to bump ratings in order to get a big piece of the Turner pie.
“It’s the contract year, and they’re really trying to hotshot as many stars for ratings purposes, and using ‘name value’ and things like that.”
Meltzer adds that Flair - on nostalgia alone - could be a “short-term” benefit to the program, but isn’t sure if he’ll be a weekly character on the show.
Sean Ross Sapp on the Fightful Post-Show for Dynamite added that he’s looking into how this will affect Flair’s relationship with WWE, as being a part of All Elite Wrestling could sour any friendliness due to the ongoing wrestling war. We heard from Rob Van Dam recently that he was dropped from his WrestleMania 40 bookings because he appeared on Dynamite to face Jack Perry for the FTW Championship earlier this year.
Someone who won’t be around to see Flair in AEW, though, is the son of Flair’s Four Horseman running buddy Arn Anderson, Brock Anderson. Though maybe that’s for the best, as his advanced years might have meant that he’d confuse Brock for Arn backstage.
It was reported a few days ago that Brock Anderson was removed from the AEW roster page, and was later confirmed that his contract had ended and he would be finishing up with the company.
Fightful Select are now reporting that the split was “amicable” and that “there doesn't appear to be any bad blood” between the two. SRS adds in the report that Brock already has a lot of interest from indie promotions looking
Our top story for today comes from last night’s AEW Dynamite, where Tony Khan revealed his gift for Sting’s retirement. No, it wasn’t a gold watch. No, it wasn’t TNA. No, it wasn’t the other Sting. It was instead his old rival, and the guy who put him on the map as a top babyface in this industry, Ric Flair.
A controversial signing for All Elite Wrestling - and one that has garnered some backlash online - but there have been rumours of Flair joining AEW for a few years now; back when Andrade El Idolo was looking for a manager in 2021 with persistent reports it would be revealed as Flair, who is his irl father-in-law.
Those plans fell apart following the airing of a Dark Side of the Ring episode about The Plane Ride From Hell, which made accusations of sexual harassment against Flair. Flair was dropped from a sponsor deal he was doing at the time, and Tommy Dreamer was suspended by Impact Wrestling for defending Flair on the episode.
So why bring Flair in now?
Well, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, it’s all about those TV contracts.
As we’ve seen with WWE for the last few weeks and months, NXT has been loading up with main roster talent in an effort to boost ratings which will, in turn, mean they will get a better TV deal during rights negotiation season.
And AEW are doing the same thing. There have been rumours and reports of a new deal for some time now, and Meltzer explains that Flair is another name being brought in to bump ratings in order to get a big piece of the Turner pie.
“It’s the contract year, and they’re really trying to hotshot as many stars for ratings purposes, and using ‘name value’ and things like that.”
Meltzer adds that Flair - on nostalgia alone - could be a “short-term” benefit to the program, but isn’t sure if he’ll be a weekly character on the show.
Sean Ross Sapp on the Fightful Post-Show for Dynamite added that he’s looking into how this will affect Flair’s relationship with WWE, as being a part of All Elite Wrestling could sour any friendliness due to the ongoing wrestling war. We heard from Rob Van Dam recently that he was dropped from his WrestleMania 40 bookings because he appeared on Dynamite to face Jack Perry for the FTW Championship earlier this year.
Someone who won’t be around to see Flair in AEW, though, is the son of Flair’s Four Horseman running buddy Arn Anderson, Brock Anderson. Though maybe that’s for the best, as his advanced years might have meant that he’d confuse Brock for Arn backstage.
It was reported a few days ago that Brock Anderson was removed from the AEW roster page, and was later confirmed that his contract had ended and he would be finishing up with the company.
Fightful Select are now reporting that the split was “amicable” and that “there doesn't appear to be any bad blood” between the two. SRS adds in the report that Brock already has a lot of interest from indie promotions looking
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to the WrestleTalk News, I'm Luke Owen and this is wrestling news.
00:12 Our top story today comes from last night's AEW Dynamite where Tony Khan revealed his
00:17 gift for Sting's retirement. No it wasn't a gold watch, no it wasn't TNA, no it wasn't
00:24 The Other Sting. It was instead his old rival and the guy who put him on the map as a top
00:29 babyface in this industry, Ric Flair. A controversial signing for All Elite Wrestling and one that
00:35 has garnered some backlash online, but there have been rumours of Flair joining AEW for
00:40 years now. Back when Andrade El Idlo was looking for a manager in 2021, with persistent reports
00:46 it would be revealed as Flair, who is his IRL father-in-law. Those plans fell apart
00:52 though following the airing of a Dark Side of the Ring episode about the Plane Ride From
00:56 Hell which made accusations of sexual harassment against Flair. Flair was dropped from a sponsorship
01:02 deal he had at the time, and Tommy Dreamer was suspended by Impact Wrestling for defending
01:07 Flair in the episode. So why bring Ric Flair into AEW now? Well according to Dave Meltzer
01:15 on Wrestling Observer Radio, it's all about the TV contracts.
01:19 As we've seen with WWE for the last few weeks and months, NXT has been loaded up with
01:24 main roster talent in an effort to boost ratings which will, in turn, mean they will get a
01:29 better TV deal during rights negotiation season. And AEW are doing the same thing. There have
01:35 been rumours and reports of a new deal for some time now, and Meltzer explains that Flair
01:40 is another name being brought in to bump ratings in order to get a big piece of the turnip
01:46 pie. It's the contract year, and they're really trying to hot shot as many stars for
01:51 ratings purposes, and using name value and things like that. Meltzer adds that Flair,
01:57 on nostalgia alone, could be a short term benefit to Dynamite, but isn't sure if he'll
02:02 be a weekly character on the show. Sean Ross Sapp on the Fightful post-show for Dynamite
02:07 added that he's going to look into how this will affect Flair's relationship with WWE
02:12 as being a part of All Elite Wrestling could sour any friendliness due to the ongoing wrestling
02:17 war. Recently we heard from Rob Van Dam that he was dropped from all of his WrestleMania
02:22 40 bookings because he appeared on Dynamite to face Jack Perry for the FTW Championship
02:28 earlier this year. Someone who won't be around to see Flair in AEW is the son of Flair's
02:33 Four Horsemen running buddy Arn Anderson, Brock Anderson. Though maybe that's for
02:38 the best, as Flair's advanced years might mean he'd confuse Brock for Arn backstage.
02:42 It was reported a few days ago that Brock Anderson was removed from the AEW roster page
02:49 and was later confirmed that his contract had ended and he would be finishing up with
02:52 the company. Fightful Select are now reporting that the split was amicable and there doesn't
02:56 appear to be any bad blood between the two. SRS adds in the report that Brock already
03:01 has a lot of interest from indie promotions looking to book him, which might also be a
03:05 reason that he chose to leave AEW. We'll have a full review of that episode of Dynamite
03:10 by Oli Davis coming up shortly, but first a word from Pete Quinnell.
03:14 And now a word from this video's sponsor. Hey Pete, you'll never guess what's happening.
03:19 Won't I? No you won't. Won't I? No you won't. Won't I? I said you won't,
03:28 Pete. Are you renaming the company into a horribly
03:30 forced three word name that then translates into a three letter initialisation because
03:33 you can and you think it's neat? Ok, you've guessed pretty accurately. So
03:37 here's what I've got so far. Warnings. Xylophones walk.
03:42 It's WXW. Incrementally creepier rappers.
03:45 ICR? I don't think that's taken. Oh no, it's rappers with a W.
03:50 Oh so ICW then. Dangerously eating fermented yogurts.
03:55 Ok, that's four words. And also that's D-E-F-What? Defy? Oli?
04:03 Ok, shut up, I've got it. Voluptuous practical nightmares.
04:07 This has been going on for nearly a year now. Surfshark VPN is an online tool that keeps
04:14 you safe wherever you browse by masking your important information. Which means you can
04:19 check sensitive stuff like your bank account even on public WiFi.
04:23 Surfshark keeps your location and download history private and encrypted, meaning you
04:27 can send or receive files securely too, like my ongoing spreadsheet of three letter acronyms
04:31 for the company. But on top of that, Surfshark also allows
04:34 you access to any of 3,200 servers in over 100 countries, allowing you to fool your phone,
04:41 laptop or tablet into thinking you're in a different country. Meaning you Americans
04:45 can still get the old WWE Network. I love you, superior search function!
04:51 If you click the link in the description down below or visit Surfshark.deals/wrestletalk,
04:56 you can get 83% off plus three months for free when you use the code WRESTLETALK on
05:01 checkout. That's Surfshark.deals/wrestletalk and use the promo code WRESTLETALK for 83%
05:08 off and three months for free. Other three letter initialism segway. Screw
05:15 you Pete. Because it's time for my review of AEW Dynamite
05:20 in about 5 minutes. The first 30 minutes of the show were entirely
05:24 devoted to easily the best thing in AEW right now, nay, probably all of wrestling. The MJF
05:31 verse. Which, thankfully, is increasingly absorbing
05:34 more and more of the whole roster, as Max weaves an intricate tapestry of friends, foes
05:39 and frenemies through a cast of Max, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett,
05:46 J White, Juice Robinson, The Guns, Samoa Joe, Wardlow, whoever that Devil Mask guy is, Max
05:52 Kass, Anthony Bowens, Daddy Ass and now Kenny fricking Omega. That's 16 people, most with
05:59 their own distinct characters and conflicting motivations. This has been steadily built
06:04 up since MJF's storyline began with Adam Cole several months ago, and is now official
06:08 proof of what I'm calling the Max Effect. Where MJF has such a psychologically dense,
06:16 three dimensional character, him interacting with another wrestler, no matter how previously
06:21 directionless or bland they might've been, makes them Max among Compelling.
06:27 After a fiery, cold open promo from Max on Juice Robinson, complete with a shot of the
06:31 Devil briefly flashing onscreen, MJF went straight into beating the crap out of Rock
06:36 Hard for the Diamond Ring - going so far as to set up a curb stomp on Juice on the steel
06:41 steps. And I'm not talking about your PG Seth Rollins curb stomp, I'm talking full
06:46 on American history chomping the corner of the steps ex-curb stomp. Thankfully, The Guns
06:50 stopped that from happening. But you can't out scumbag a scumbag, and Max won by cheating
06:56 with his own diamond ring. The Gang Bang Gang beat him down in the post
07:00 match, but you know what they say, friends are like buses. You wait ages for one, and
07:04 then so many come along at the same time it's overwhelming and you don't know which one's
07:08 going to turn on you first. Taven and Bennett tried to make a half-arse
07:13 save, so the Acclaim chased off Bullet Club Gold instead. Max then not only accepted a
07:18 solo ROH tag title defence against The Guns at Full Gear - well, maybe Samoa Joe will
07:23 partner with him, more on that later - he also said next week will be an 8 man tag of
07:28 the Gang Bang Gang vs MJF and three partners of his choosing.
07:32 But despite having two three man factions right there in the Kingdom and the Acclaimed,
07:36 he chose neither, further delaying him scissoring Max Caster. An actual sentence I said. Because
07:42 I think they could both be Red Herrings. As then, Kenny fricking By God Omega came
07:49 out, and Max granted his request to defend his title reign record. It'll be MJF vs
07:54 Omega for the world title this Saturday on Collision. I'm so excited, I can't even
08:01 complain about there only being three days of build.
08:04 Maybe Bullet Club Gold interfere somehow in that match, setting up another Max vs Omega
08:08 encounter down the line, and giving the Elite motivation to be MJF's partners in next
08:13 week's 8 man tag. Also, Wardlow promised to take everything
08:16 from Max, and Samoa Joe said he'll be MJF's partner, but only if he gets a title rematch.
08:26 This was excellent Game of Thrones levels of interconnected storylines. And I mean good
08:32 Game of Thrones, I don't mean the later stuff. RVD just doesn't age. Winning the
08:35 Fun Tag with Hook against John Silver and Alex Reynolds. Chris Jericho teased getting
08:39 some of his own big friends to take on powerhouse Hobbs. I don't know why, but my mind just
08:43 went to Goldberg. AEW announced a new pay-per-view, World's
08:47 End, for December 30th. Furthering speculation they'll expand into monthly shows in 2024.
08:52 Tony Schiavone did his best to stop Sting going over time on the mic to announce Tony
08:56 Khan's surprise gift. After Saturday's dream match surprise been
09:00 Andrade, it's probably something like a car or-
09:03 HOLY F*** IT'S RICK FLAIR. Does that mean Sting owns Ric Flair now?
09:07 Flair effectively announced he's All Elite, saying he'll ride out with Sting. But Ric
09:11 Flair is, of course, the father of Charlotte Flair. Meaning he's a dad. Yes, you guessed
09:17 where this is going. Christian came out to be mean about Ric, and that he should be dead.
09:21 Dead dad. Sting and Darby Allin accepted Christian's
09:24 6 man tag challenge for full gear. Sting was pretty pushy with Adam Copeland backstage
09:28 after, wanting him to be their partner. But Copeland is still reluctant about fighting
09:32 him. Oh yeah, the Humbucks are ROH 6 man tag chaps.
09:35 They retained against the Hardys and Brothers, eh? It was just a fun set up for what was
09:39 actually my favourite thing on the whole show. Swerve Strickland cementing himself as AEW's
09:45 best heel, by cutting a promo on Hangman's baby after having broken into his house and
09:51 standing over its crib. How do you get more evil than that? I don't
09:54 want to know the answer. It's probably really awful.
09:57 Swerve's performance, his steady delivery, how he cut the promo just him, the baby and
10:01 a camera in the room, Prince Nana obviously being uncomfortable with it all. This was
10:06 awesome. Shida's title defence against Ruby Soho
10:08 was unfortunately a bit sloppy early on, then overbooked at the end with multiple cheating
10:13 spots. Toni Storm, who got her latest silent movie earlier, introducing Luthor as her butler,
10:18 came out to pose afterwards, meaning Shida had to look on weirdly at a world in black
10:22 and white. And the main event saw wrestling's weirdest
10:25 faction Chaos put out a card at an Orange Cassidy against wrestling's most badass
10:29 faction the Blackpool Combat Club, represented by Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli.
10:34 This was predictably incredible. With an excellent middle section of just Danielson vs Okada,
10:40 Cassidy and Claudio were just as exciting, at one point hitting a counter into a counter
10:44 into a counter into a counter, and a brilliant spot where Okada did his Rainmaker pose, which
10:49 Cassidy walked into with a best friend hug. Claudio beat Cassidy with a pop-up uppercut,
10:54 potentially setting up an international title match later, but the post-match focus was
10:58 on Danielson writhing in pain following Okada's Rainmaker.
11:01 It's most likely a kayfabe injury, as Okada gloated, building a WrestleKingdom rematch
11:06 between them. But with the respective factions coming down to the ring, the otherwise fantastic
11:10 episode ended a bit awkwardly. This week's Dynamite is one of the top
11:14 five wrestling shows of the year for me at 90%. But what are the 10 worst WWE pay-per-views
11:20 ever? Watch on to find out.
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