AEW: Kenny Omega Injury Update, Tony Khan on Lack of Blood & Guts Match for DoN 2022, Serena Deeb

Kenny Omega Injury Status Update

As noted before, Kenny Omega has been out of action for AEW since this past November due to him having surgery and rehabbing from multiple injuries. Omega recently returned to the company and resumed his backstage duties helping out with the Women’s division.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Omega recently informed AEW officials that he made his return too early and would not be able to travel to Las Vegas for this week’s set of television shows and Double or Nothing 2022 event due to health related reasons.

Meltzer reported that Omega stated that some parts of his body that were injured have healed enough for him to be able to resume training while other parts are healing slower than he expected. Omega also reportedly told others that he is resigned to the fact that he will never return to a 100% physical state but is looking at reversing some of the physical damage done to his body from his wrestling career.

Omega also reportedly told others that his current time off healing from his various injuries will allow him to extend his career as an effective pro wrestler.

---

Tony Khan on Why No Blood & Guts Match at AEW Double or Nothing 2022

A recent episode of the In The Kliq podcast had AEW CEO Tony Khan as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Khan’s reasons why the scheduled Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie Kingston, Santana, & Ortiz match is not being held as a Blood & Guts match for this Sunday’s Double or Nothing 2022 event.

“I don’t think it would necessarily make sense with what we had set up on the pay-per-view in terms of getting the cage up and down for Blood & Guts and also the seating because it means less ringside seats. We have such great fans coming to the show and such a big attendance, actually a record gate for AEW. It’s the first time we’ve ever sold over a million dollars, just in tickets, we’re over $1.1 million in tickets for Double or Nothing before we even hit pay-per-view. It’s going to be a huge pay-per-view audience. Fans all over America and all over the world are talking about Double or Nothing.”

Khan also gave his thoughts about the future of AEW’s Blood & Guts match and the idea of having William Regal be the person to officially announce the match similar in fashion to his famous “WarGames” setup announcement in WWE NXT.

“It’s an interesting thought and an interesting thing you bring up. I would not rule that out in the future at all. I would love for Blood & Guts to return to AEW. We still have the cage. It would make a lot of sense for Blood & Guts to come back to AEW.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

---

Serena Deeb Comments on Current State of AEW’s Women’s Division

A recent episode of the Under The Ring podcast had Serena Deeb as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Deeb’s thoughts on the current state of AEW’s Women’s Division and everyone in the division wanting to help each other to improve the division.

“There’s a lot of chatter about it. Tony has his hand on the pulse with everything in wrestling. He’s been doing so much more with the women. We’re in a really good spot right now. We’ve acquired, recently, Toni Storm, who is a great wrestler. There are people who have untapped potential who, within the next coming years, will surface as main contenders. There is a lot of young talent that, from the Nightmare Factory and Dustin’s school in Texas, they are training people the right way. We are also doing ring training in Orlando at Universal where the Dark tapings are held. Everybody wants to help each other grow. What more could you ask for? Your division is only going to get better when everybody wants to help each other. There are other companies and chapters of my career where it hasn’t been like that, it’s been a little more divided and some people are a little more selfish.

What we have at AEW is a lot more of a sisterhood. That reminds me of my years at SHIMMER. Everybody was like, ‘we want to make this the best.’ SHIMMER built a reputation for being the women’s evolution (or) revolution. I’m feeling those same vibes at AEW where everybody wants it to be the best division. There is a lot of competition, but it’s good. The competition is good. I try not to compare us to other companies and other women’s divisions, some people get stuck in that trap. For me, how can I help this division grow? Wrestling fans these days, it’s not a knock or a bad thing, but it’s always, ‘who is the best? What is the best?’ That’s a lot of the chatter on social media. I want everyone to enjoy all products. If they don’t enjoy one product, they don’t have to watch it. We’re working really hard, there is a team effort, we have a lot of great minds in our locker room from Arn Anderson to Tully Blanchard to Jerry Lynn to Dustin (Rhodes) to Sonjay (Dutt) to Pat Buck, Mark Henry, Big Show, (CM) Punk, Bryan Danielson, there are so many resources there now that maybe weren’t there six months to a year ago. Dean Malenko, how could I leave him off? My hero. We have everyone around us that wants to help and a lot of the girls are making use of that. We have so much opportunity for growth. People also have to remember that AEW is only three years old. It’s taking off and doing great, it’s a great company, but it’s still relatively new. If you look at wrestling history, promotions take several years to build. It’s still in the building process.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com