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00:00Did John Cena bury a WWE project? Multiple stars done with AEW? My review of AEW Dynamite
00:07and more. I'm Luke Owen and this is the WrestleTalk News.
00:14If you've been watching AEW for the past couple of weeks, you'll have seen they have
00:17a partnership with comics publisher DC. Last week saw the ringside area adorned with pictures
00:23of DC characters like Batman, Harley Quinn, Lobo and others. Oli Davis was very excited
00:28about it. This week also saw lots of references to DC as they will be the lead sponsor for
00:32Full Gear in November, but this is also a two-way street. As Owen Likes Comics posted on his social
00:38media, Batman hit a V-trigger and one-winged angel in Absolute Batman Annual No. 1 by Daniel
00:43Warren Johnson. The panel went viral, prompting Kenny Omega himself to post, I'm Batman. That
00:49noise you just heard was Oli Davis having a tiny climax. That was also a sneaky plug to
00:53remind you to go watch our two hour podcast about the Flash over on cutscene which featured
00:57Michael Keaton return as Batman. Speaking of plugging things, and former WWE star David
01:02Otunga has joined the former WWE stars doing a YouTube channel bandwagon and did an interview
01:08with Muscle Man Malcolm to plug said channel.
01:10Otunga is best known in WWE for either drinking coffee or for his time in The Nexus, a faction
01:15made up of NXT rookies who invaded WWE. This was back when NXT was a weekly game show format
01:21designed to make wrestlers like Bryan Danielson look silly on national television. But when
01:24the Nexus angle first started, it was electric. Oli and I recently rewatched it for a podcast
01:29series and that first angle on Raw is absolutely brilliant. It built to a Summerslam 7 on 7
01:35elimination match where Nexus faced Team WWE of John Cena, John Morrison, Bret Hart, Chris
01:39Jericho, Edge, R-Truth and a returning Daniel Bryan who had been shoot fired following the
01:44first angle. The problem with the Nexus was that while WWE wanted to use NXT to create some
01:49new stars, most notably Wade Barrett and Skip Sheffield who would later become Ryback, they didn't
01:53want to put them over established names like John Cena, Chris Jericho and Edge. So even
01:58though it was a daft move and it killed any momentum the group had, Cena beat the Nexus
02:02at Summerslam despite being at a 2-on-1 disadvantage and being DDT'd onto concrete.
02:07A number of years ago, Edge did a Talk is Jericho podcast where the pair discussed the finish
02:11of the match where Jericho said, John wanted to do things a certain way and we told him you're
02:16wrong, he did it anyways and it sucked. Jericho claims that Cena admitted he was wrong after
02:20the match and he should have listened to them. Now this has always been interpreted as Jericho
02:24and Edge claiming that Cena made the call for Team WWE to go over at Summerslam, even though
02:30clearly the better option was for Nexus to win. Only that isn't quite what he meant.
02:36In his book, The Best in the World at What I Have No Idea, Jericho clarifies it was Vince
02:40McMahon's call to have Team WWE win, but Cena, doing things a certain way, was changing the
02:46finish of the match, which was laid out by Jericho and Edge, to one where he would look
02:51stronger. According to Jericho and Edge, it was Cena's idea to get DDT'd onto the floor
02:55and then come back to win at a 2-on-1 disadvantage. Edge and Jericho argued against that finish,
02:59but Vince sided with Cena. But tell that to David Otunga, because he still believes the
03:03first interpretation.
03:04We know Cena asked to go over at Summerslam. We know he had a part in it. This is not a rumour.
03:10I was there. I lived this. Great guy, but we are telling you the truth. When Malcolm asked
03:15if there was tension between Cena and the Nexus following Summerslam, Otunga replies,
03:19of course. He adds, why do you think they never brought the Nexus back? Why do you think
03:23they never released the Nexus documentary? John Cena still has a lot of pull there.
03:29The Nexus documentary Otunga is referencing is one made by WWE to mark the 10 year anniversary
03:34of the faction that eventually never got released. By all accounts it was finished, just not put
03:38out. Now these are just my observations here, so you can take them with a pinch of salt if
03:43you want, but I see two options.
03:45Option A, David Otunga is doing a big old work.
03:48Otunga is a smart guy who knows the magic of working fans. He doesn't believe what he
03:52just said, but he's got his tongue placed firmly in his cheek, and this is all just
03:56a bit of fun. He might even have a little cheeky text with John Cena afterwards, laughing
04:00at all the worky McWorkface they've just done. Option B, Otunga is doing a big old grift.
04:05Otunga is a smart guy who has seen other former WWE wrestlers get their names in aggregating
04:10circles by grifting, by just saying anything that you don't really believe, because
04:15you know it will rile up internet fans who will talk about you both positively and negatively.
04:20But the important thing is, they are talking about you.
04:24That interview was done to promote his new YouTube channel, so why not just say anything
04:29insane you'd like about John Cena to generate some headlines. Look, I'm talking about it
04:34here on the WrestleTalk News. I also think that's why Otunga jumped on the Andrade non-compete-to-get-edge-back
04:40fan speculation.
04:41I don't think it's secret option C. The David Otunga is a victim of the rule of
04:44Demo. Some wrestlers are just f***ing stupid. I don't know what to tell you.
04:48Case in point, he goes on to tell Malcolm that the producer of the Nexus documentary was fired
04:52by WWE during the pandemic when they cut a bunch of backstage people, which is probably
04:57a bigger reason it didn't get released. Furthermore, Fred Rosser, who was in the Nexus
05:00as Darren Young, believes one of the reasons the documentary didn't get released is he
05:04filmed his interview for it wearing a New Japan track jacket which he was asked to
05:09remove so that they didn't promote a rival promotion on the documentary. Rosser was working
05:13for New Japan at the time. He also adds that Bryan Danielson leaving WWE for AEW played a
05:18role in the documentary not getting released. My point is, I don't think the reason you've
05:23not seen a documentary about the Nexus is because John Cena doesn't want you to see it. If
05:27I'm a betting man, I'd wager that Cena didn't even know one had been made. If you
05:31do want to see sort of a documentary about the Nexus, Oli and I did a huge podcast series
05:35about it, links for which are in the video description.
05:37But speaking of Chris Jericho, there's been a lot of speculation as of late as to his
05:41status with All Elite Wrestling. After being on TV pretty much every week since the promotion
05:45launched in 2019, so much to the point he had a meta segment called TV Time with Chris
05:49Jericho, there's been rumblings that he could finish up with the promotion when his
05:53contract ends at the end of this year, which would set him up for a 2026 Royal Rumble
05:58return. He's not been on AEW TV since April. That speculation kicked up a gear when
06:03he revealed the lineup for the next Jericho Cruise did not feature any AEW talent on it.
06:08And the speculation ran a bit wilder yesterday when it came out that Jericho had allowed his
06:12trademark on the term The Jericho Vortex, a gimmick he had in AEW, to lapse. I think Oli
06:17Davis actually has a really solid claim to that trademark, as I'm pretty sure he said
06:20it first as it was a spin-off from our Midcard Vortex joke in 2019.
06:25And Jericho is not alone at Speculation Station about their future in AEW, as it's been reported
06:29throughout 2025 that Private Party could be finishing up with All Elite Wrestling when
06:34their contracts end, and there has been interest from WWE, according to reports. Fightful Select
06:40have a new report that says while they signed their contracts at the same time, injuries
06:45now mean there's a possibility they will end at different times, making a tag team debut
06:50in WWE tricky. Fightful add we haven't heard their preferences about staying with or
06:55leaving AEW. And part of the reason to maybe stay is Fightful right they've been working
06:59a lot with the Hurt Syndicate as of late to improve their physiques. Fightful right those
07:03familiar with the situation claimed that Hurt Syndicate have been really helpful to them.
07:07But it's Thursday, you know what that means. It's time for my review of AEW Dynamite, which
07:11opened with Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin beating Willy Yuta and Daniel Garcia of the Death
07:15Riders in a fun and chaotic hardcore tornado attack. There was a bunch of table breaks and
07:19such, and Darby Allin tapped out Yuta with a Scorpion Deathlock. Hook in his D12 t-shirt
07:23came from some Purple Hills. Radio edits took out a promo on Samoa Joe ahead of the main
07:27event, but eagle eyed viewers were more distracted in the background by the Stay Puff Marshmallow
07:32Man, once used by Hangman Adam Page on a Halloween edition of Dynamite. This would end up being
07:36a show long tease, but it also meant I didn't really listen to what Hook said because I was
07:40so focused on Stay Puff in the background and I was thinking about that D12 album which
07:43featured a diss track against Fred Durst and DJ Lethal. The Young Bucks walked past that
07:47Stay Puff Marshmallow Man again as Don Callis told them he'd paid for an awesome entrance.
07:51At entrance was him on the screen doing a live promo, putting over their careers and burying
07:55Kenny Omega with probably too much pyro. They took on FTR, Jet Speed and Jurassic Express
07:59for the right to become the number one contenders to the tag titles, and hey, guess what? This
08:04match with the Young Bucks, FTR, Jet Speed and Jurassic Express ruled. It was all action
08:09and it was all great, and FTR got the win hitting the Shadow Machine on Kevin Knight after he had
08:13hit his UFO splash. The Don Callis family had a summit where they established the core beliefs
08:17of the group, while also looking to smooth over any cracks between Kanusuke Takeshita
08:21and Kazuchika Okada. Takeshita sadly wasn't there due to travel issues, but it turns out
08:25he was there and he came down and immediately got in the face of Okada.
08:29Callis effectively told Takeshita to get in line and ordered him to shake Okada's hand.
08:35Takeshita went to do it, but then Okada gave him the finger. Takeshita had to be held back
08:39from the grinning madman. I just loved all of this.
08:43We got a promo from Olympia as she'll be facing Mercedes Monet for the CMLL Women's Championship
08:47on Collision this Saturday, and Kyle O'Reilly and Jon Moxley had a rematch from last week
08:51which was just as awesome, if not better. Until the finish.
08:55No matter what Mox did, Kyle kept reversing him into submissions. Mox would fire up, ankle
08:59lock. Gotch style pile driver, triangle choke. Shafir stepped in the way of Kyle doing his
09:04flying knee, but even Mox couldn't capitalize on that and Kyle got in a guillotine. Sadly this
09:09meant that both of them got counted out, which is a lame finish when compared to last week.
09:13But before the crowd could chant Bullspit too much, Shafir decked Aubrey Edwards to get
09:16some heat. The conglomeration and Deathriders had a brawl, and a challenge was made for blood
09:20and guts. Mercedes Monet attacked Chris Statlander with Stay Puft in the background, and Athena
09:23helped lay her out. Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron ran down to make the save, as
09:27they'll be facing Monet and Athena next week.
09:29We got a delightfully lovely video package for Bandido bringing his nan to a wrestling show.
09:33And the Sisters of Sin advanced in that tag team tournament by beating Jamie Hayter and
09:37Queen Aminata following some interference from Tekla. They sadly also announced that Penelope
09:41Ford is injured, and Megan Bain will now team with Marina Shafir in the tournament. Speedy
09:45recovery to Penelope Ford.
09:47The main event saw Samoa Joe beat Bobby Lashley, Hook and Ricochet to become the number one contender
09:51to Hangman Page's world title. This was a great match, and saw Ricochet hit Lashley with
09:55a chair that distracted him long enough that he didn't get back in time to break up Joe choking
10:00out Hook. And then we got a wacky ending as Tony Schiavone, dressed as the Phantom, brought
10:04out the Halloween crew for the contract signing. Joe thought Stay Puft Marshmallow Man would
10:09be Page again, but turns out it wasn't. Schiavone then got back into the ring so everyone could
10:13have drinks, and then he revealed he was Hangman Page all along in the most Gene Parmesan of
10:17moments and he attacked Joe. This was a great episode of Dynamite that was light on story,
10:21but heavy on superb wrestling. I really enjoyed all the matches and loved the Callas Family
10:25stuff, but I didn't love the costume stuff at the end with Hangman. I don't think it was
10:28just me either, as it didn't get a ton of heat from the crowd. Having said that, this was
10:32better than last week's show. Did I mention we reviewed the Flash over on Cutscene? You
10:36can check it out right now by clicking the video on screen. And check out our Patreon version
10:40where we did a 5 hour scene by scene breakdown.