AEW: Bryan Danielson on Nigel McGuinness Match Being “Really Special”, Cody Rhodes on Darby Allin Can Be “The Face” of AEW, More News

Oct 3, 2024

Bryan Danielson Comments on His Match with Nigel McGuinness Being “Really Special”

A recent episode of The Nikki & Brie Show podcast featured Bryan Danielson as the guest co-host. One of the topics discussed included Danielson’s thoughts about his match against Nigel McGuinness at last week’s AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2024 show.

“I had another really cool thing that happened on Wednesday is I got to wrestle Nigel McGuinness and a lot of people might not know Nigel McGuinness but, he was somebody that — we really helped make each other on the independent scene and that sort of thing and then he had a lot of injuries and all that kind of stuff and then he hasn’t wrestled — he hadn’t done a singles match in 13 years. He’s 48 years old and we just wrestled at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday and I mean, it was really cool and really special and for somebody who hasn’t wrestled in 13 years, he did fantastic, and it was so neat and it was so cool and it was so special… He flew out his daughter. He did something we (Danielson & Brie Garcia) should have done. Nigel said, ‘Hey, would you mind meeting my daughter beforehand? So that she can know that we’re friends and we’re not actually hurting each other out there’ and as soon as he told that to me, I was like, oh my gosh. We should have totally done that for (our children).”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com

Cody Rhodes Comments on Darby Allin Can Be “The Face” of AEW

A recent episode of the Superstar Crossover show featured former AEW and current WWE talent Cody Rhodes as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Rhodes thoughts about his belief that Darby Allin can become the “Face of AEW” but he has to be reliable for that big spot and brought up Allin’s plans to climb Mt. Everest and him getting hit by a bus as issues against it.

“So the answer is a guaranteed yes (I believe Darby Allin can be the face of AEW). But, don’t let Darby fool you. He was never insecure and he was never not confident. Darby is almost overconfident and that’s what we do. We talk smack, we wrestle each other. This is entertainment. I don’t mind it but sometimes your overconfidence is actually arrogance, when in his case, instead of it being arrogance, the experience that he’s had. Now with Sting. The experience he’s had seeing the different changes in the company, all of that. That is the experience that you need to lead you to where you see the clarity and you see the moment and go, hey, I can be — I hate using this terminology — but I can be the guy. Absolutely, 100 percent could potentially be the person. But, but, and here’s the but: That spot is available to far more people than we think, in every company. Everyone thinks it’s about, oh, it’s the politics, it’s about who you know. There’s a degree of that in everything, sure. But it’s so much more fair than you think. If you look in the mirror and say, hey, I wanna be in John Cena’s spot. Look at John Cena’s schedule for the day. If you can do it, then perhaps you’re on the path to getting that spot. If you can do it every day, then perhaps you do get the spot. If you can do it every day plus one, then it’s yours and I think it’s a far more fair business than people think so 100 percent but there are other people that I would say that about as well. He certainly shouldn’t be remotely in doubt on whether can do that or not but also, the stupid climbing mountains and getting hit by buses, you can’t be the face of the company if you’re not relied upon, you know what I’m saying? You can’t wrestle anybody and you’re in a body cast. So, that’s dumb. But I say that with love.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com

AEW News & Notes

Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite 5 Year Anniversary Show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania featured Private Party debuting a new entrance theme song. AEW lead composer Micky Rukus stated on Twitter that Private Party’s new entrance song is “Flex On Em” by Tylee.

WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix announced on Instagram that herself, Adam Copeland, and their family are safe following Hurricane Helene’s impact and destruction in their hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. Phoenix stated that they were unable to contact anyone for several days and were without power, cell phone service, or water during that time period.

Destiny City Comics in Tacoma, Washington recently announced that they are currently holding a special offer involving them giving away a free comic book should Bryan Danielson defeat Jon Moxley to retain his AEW World Championship at AEW’s WrestleDream 2024 event. It was announced that should Danielson win, anyone who visits their store on October 13th will be given a free comic book as a gift.

As noted before, Miro recently requested his release from AEW. Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that his sources stated that they had not heard of Miro being granted his release from AEW. Sapp reported that Miro and AEW officials have rarely been on the same side creatively for plans. Sapp also reported that Miro’s current contract is set to expire in Spring of 2026 but it is possible that AEW can extend it way past that date if there is an injury time clause in his deal.

As noted before, Shane McMahon and AEW CEO Tony Khan held a private meeting this past July in Arlington, Texas to discuss “possibilities moving forward” in regards to McMahon potentially working for AEW in the future. Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that his sources stated that McMahon’s recent encounters with Mercedes Mone and the Young Bucks at airports following AEW shows was just coincidental. Sapp reported that McMahon’s recent meeting with Khan was something that had been planned to take place. Sapp also reported that McMahon has not been seen backstage at any AEW shows since his meeting with Khan nor was he in attendance backstage at last week’s Grand Slam shows in Queens, New York.

In a recent interview with Q93, AEW CEO Tony Khan gave his thoughts about AEW Dynamite fifth anniversary and his belief that it would not have been possible to launch AEW without Chris Jericho’s involvement. Khan stated “I don’t know if it would have been possible for us to launch AEW without Chris Jericho’s involvement. He’s been a fixture and a great part of AEW throughout the five years.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Britt Baker gave her thoughts about the poor reception to her match against Mercedes Mone for the TBS Championship at this past August’s AEW All In 2024 event and believes the placement of the match on the card hurt it a “little bit.” Baker stated “It was such a surreal moment for me just to be able to be in the ring with — I’m sorry, she’ll always be Sasha Banks to me. Mercedes (Moné) is my competition, but Sasha is my idol and they just so happen to be the same person. Which is really cool. I definitely think match placement on that card hurt us a little bit, some might say a lot. It’s a long night. It’s a big crowd. They see a lot of wrestling and they get tired and I don’t blame them at all for that. And how many crazy, insanely talented matches were on that show? I mean, All In, every year has to be one of the best wrestling shows of the year. Every single year. I just think, how lucky am I that I got to wrestle someone who literally inspired me to be a professional wrestler? People talk about their idols, some people, their inspirations aren’t even living anymore. I got to wrestle mine in London at Wembley Stadium. You have to look at the positives and things like that. And like I said, there are days where you delete social media. And I had quite a few of those days because people, again, they make up stories and make up narratives. They think they know what’s happening in matches. They have no clue. They’re so wrong and you just wanna grab them and shake them and say shut the F up. You don’t know what you’re talking about. But you can’t do that. What you can do is delete the app, and basically, if I don’t see what someone’s saying, it’s not real. Perception is reality and if I don’t perceive the thing you’re saying, it’s not real to me.It doesn’t help that her and I are both very polarizing wrestlers. I know that. She knows that. We have very, very dear diehard fans. We have just as many, if not double, triple the amount of haters. And at the end of the day, if people are talking about you, they’re talking about you. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. But unfortunately, buzz is buzz.“

In the same interview, Britt Baker gave her thoughts about the growth of AEW’s Women’s division. Baker stated “Ultimately, that’s what I’ve always wanted for AEW (women’s division to grow). That’s what I’ve been pushing for since day one. I want us to have the best women’s division in all of wrestling. You can’t do that by yourself. You have to have dance partners. You have to have an army if you’re gonna go to war. You can’t fight every battle by yourself. Early on, I was always nudging Tony (Khan), ‘Hey, this girl’s a free agent. Hey, look at this girl. Hey, look at that girl.’ We’re at a point now where we have so many talented girls, so many stars. Girls are just kind of thrown into matches with little to no heads-up and they just kill it because they’re stars. They’re prepared. They know how to handle the stress and the pressure. I think that’s really special and it speaks lot to our women’s division.“

AEW recently revealed the full card for this Friday’s AEW Rampage show:

Trios match – The Elite (The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) & Jack Perry) vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy)
The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The Learning Tree (Big Bill & Bryan Keith)
Queen Aminata vs. Harley Cameron
Kamille vs. Zoey Lynn