More on Kevin Knight’s Signing with AEW
As noted before, Kevin Knight recently signed an official contract with AEW that was officially announced following his match at Saturday’s AEW Collision show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Fightful Select reported that Knight’s contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling had expired during the week of Wrestle Kingdom 19 this past January.
It was reported that while NJPW officials were very interested in retaining Knight, many within the company had expected him to land a contract with a promotion in the United States. Knight reportedly held talks with Tony Khan and Rocky Romero for a potential deal with AEW and also had been looking to have talks with WWE as well.
In regards to WWE, it was reported those spoken to stated that WWE did have interest in Knight and had he signed with the company, he likely would have started in their NXT developmental brand.
It was also reported that those spoken to within TNA had believed that Knight would not be showing up again in their company unless he signed with WWE.
Queen Aminata Dealing with Wrist Injury
Saturday’s AEW Collision show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was originally scheduled to feature a match between Queen Aminata and Jamie Hayter.
During the show, Aminata was seen with a wrap around her hand and wrist during a backstage interview with Lexy Nair. Aminata stated that she is currently dealing with a wrist injury and was not medically cleared to compete on the show. This led to Serena Deeb showing up to interrupt and stated that this would not have happened if she had listened to her and gave her a book to study up on.
BREAKING: Billie Starkz will be replacing Queen Aminata in the main event against Jamie Hayter due to not being medically cleared, but Serena Deeb thinks that injury could have been avoided.
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 30, 2025
Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on TNT & Max@SerenaDeeb | @amisylle | @BillieStarkz pic.twitter.com/umaBpT7UVZ
It was announced that Billie Starkz would be replacing Aminata for her scheduled match against Hayter, which was won by Hayter.
No other details are currently known regarding Aminata’s injury nor if this is an actual legit injury or just for storyline purposes.
Update on Deonna Purrazzo & The Vendetta’s AEW Status & Plans for The Group
Deonna Purrazzo has been noticeably absent from AEW programming since this past January. Prior to her absence, Purrazzo had formed a new group with Taya Valkyria called The Vendetta and had teased another member joining their group in the future.
Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Purrazzo’s college obligations have never interfered with her AEW bookings and Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) using the ability to graduate around a work schedule as a drawing point for her.
It was reported that Purrazzo has made pitches creatively for her and her grout but at the moment, AEW officials currently do not have any immediate plans for Purrazzo or The Vendetta.
In regards to Purrazzo’s teases of a new potential member being added to the group, those spoken to stated that there was never any actual plan to do so and instead this was something just being thrown out to add intrigue to the group.
In regards to CMLL using Valkyrie for shows instead of Purrazzo, those spoken to stated that they have not heard of any plans within CMLL to use Purrazzo for their shows.