AEW: Anna Jay vs. Deonna Purrazzo Set for Wed. Dynamite Show, Jeff Jarrett on AEW’s New COO Hiring, More News

Jan 17, 2024

Anna Jay vs. Deonna Purrazzo Announced for Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite Show

AEW CEO Tony Khan recently announced one new match for the card of tonight’s AEW Dynamite show in North Charleston, South Carolina.

This is a singles match of Anna Jay vs. Deonna Purrazzo.

Khan also announced that “Timeless” Toni Storm will be on guest commentary during this match.

TOMORROW
Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite
TBS, 8pm ET/7pm CT@annajay___ vs @DeonnaPurrazzo

Anna Jay, after a huge win last Wednesday + a close call at #AEWBOTB9, fights The Virtuosa, making her Dynamite debut after a win Saturday,
with Timeless Toni Storm on commentary TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com/baapHXd6RZ
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) January 16, 2024

Current card for January 17th AEW Dynamite show:

AEW World Championship – HOOK vs. Samoa Joe (c)
TNT Championship – Dustin Rhodes vs. Christian Cage (c)
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship – Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & The Gunns (Austin & Colten Gunn)) vs. Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage & Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun)) (c)
Anna Jay vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Jeff Jarrett Comments on AEW’s Hiring of New COO “Has Been Needed Due To Our Growth, I’m Excited”

As noted before, AEW hired former WWE Regional Director of Live Events Kosha Irby earlier this month to be their new Chief Operating Officer.

In a recent episode of the My World with Jeff Jarrett podcast, AEW Director of Business Development and co-host Jeff Jarrett gave his thoughts about AEW’s recent hiring of Irby as their new COO.

“You think about the growth of AEW, going from two hours of Dynamite and Rampage in the early days, and then just kind of the growth, I’m elated. COO I think is a position that has been needed for quite some time. I don’t think that is sharing anything outside of the box. But I think it’s part of, I don’t want to say growing pains, but it’s the growth of a company. So I’m very, very excited for Kosha to be on board. I just think, when you really drill down and the press release this week that WBD put out and you take a step back and look at the big, big picture, which we always get caught up, and we all do. It’s kind of the nature of the beast. In so many ways, it is why wrestling, to me, is so successful in the digital era. It’s because of the constant exchange of information. Yes, some people will say Twitter is toxic, and I’d rather stay in Instagram or TikTok, and then you have YouTube and all these different kind of things. But at the end of the day, the wrestling industry, no matter what social media platform, is an instantaneous exchange of information, good and bad, but I think that’s kind of what makes the world go round. So I am super excited to see Kosha on board, and the continued growth.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

AEW News & Notes

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Parker Boudreaux was in attendance backstage at last week’s Dynamite Homecoming 2024 show in Jacksonville, Florida. It was reported that this was the first time in months that Boudreaux had attended an AEW event and the reason for his appearance was to visit friends and co-workers. It was reported that AEW officials currently do not have any creative plans for Boudreaux, who has been absent from the company for almost a year due to an injury-related issue.

This past Monday’s 2024 NFL Playoffs Wild Card Round game of Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers featured Ric Flair making a guest appearance for the Buccaneers’ pre-game festivities.

As noted before, Stokely Hathaway recently paid Kurt Angle to release a video giving his support of Hathaway over his current storyline issues with Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale. Hathaway recently did the same again with controversial former congressman George Santos paying Santos to release a cameo video in support of him.

In a recent interview with AEW’s Hey! (EW) show, AEW commentator Nigel McGuinness gave his thoughts about why he constantly calls Bryan Danielson a “clam digger” on AEW commentary. Nigel stated “Cause that is his hobby and I always thought, he’s always seen as this tough badass wrestler and that’s his hobby. To dig up these mollusks, stand on the sand with this silly looking spade.” In response to host RJ City stating that term is slang for someone with unclean genitalia, McGuinness stated “It is a euphemism but I’ve already told you the word that it’s a euphemism for.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Samoa Joe gave his thoughts about his upcoming AEW World Championship match against HOOK at tonight’s AEW Dynamite show. Joe stated “I’m very much looking forward to it (match against HOOK). This typifies what I want to see during my reign–I want these first-time matchups with something at stake. HOOK is quite the dynamic little athlete, and he’s been doing his best to make his case. His record speaks for itself, and we’re going to find out if he’s the truth or not.“

Deonna Purrazzo recently commented on Twitter about the unjustified hate and body shamming she has recently been receiving by wrestling fans and others online. Purrazzo stated “Oh, I’ve already seen it. I had a cry then I realized my worth is NOT determined by 1) my body 2) others perception of me. I am a 5x World Champion. I have worked with nearly every major company in the world. I am one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. Furthermore, I just earned my bachelors degree. I am looking to start a Master’s program. AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, I have a husband who thinks I am beautiful whether I’m a size S or M. (I’ve never ever been a size S.) They are entitled to their opinion and I’m entitled to tell them to kiss this FAT ass.“

In a recent interview with Adrian Hernandez, Powerhouse Hobbs gave his thoughts about his belief that his match with Miro at this past September’s AEW All Out 2023 event was the best “big man match” so far in AEW history. Hobbs stated “It was awesome (match with Miro at AEW All Out). The match went unbelievable, and to be told to keep going and going and having that energy from the fans and you know, the fans will make you. They tell you what they want and they wanted more of it and I believe that-that was the best big man match in the history of this company so far.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)