AEW: Daniel Garcia AEW Contract Update, Mercedes Mone on Having “Mixed Emotions” Over Level of Extreme Violence at AEW All Out 2024, More News

Daniel Garcia AEW Contract Status Update

As noted before, Daniel Garcia’s contract with AEW is currently set to expire this Fall but he is currently expected to stay in the company.

Fightful Select reported that their sources confirmed WrestlePurists recent report about how Garcia was originally planned to win his match against MJF at AEW All Out 2024. Those same sources also confirmed that AEW officials changed their plans for MJF to be victorious instead due to Garcia had yet to sign a new deal with the company prior to the event.

It was reported that AEW officials have given Garcia an offer for a potential new deal and had been hopeful that he would have signed it before All Out.

It was also reported that those within AEW currently believe that WWE is interested in potentially signing Garcia to their company.

One top AEW talent spoken to stated that they had been under the impression throughout the summer that Garcia would stay with AEW but as of mid-September, they currently feel that it is “far from a guarantee.”

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Mercedes Mone Comments on Having “Mixed Emotions Over Level of Violence at AEW All Out 2024

A recent issue of the Mone Mag fan newsletter featured Mercedes Mone giving her thoughts about her having mixed emotions over the level of extreme violence that was displayed at this past Saturday’s AEW All Out 2024 event.

“All Out was extremely violent, and honestly, Daniel Bryan’s stuff was tough to watch. I have mixed emotions. When done right, that kind of stuff can tear a roof off like Daniel’s did. However, I wouldn’t want my brother Joshua to watch stuff like that, or kids, for that matter. Let’s face it, wrestling is multi-generational. When I do signings, I greet so many parents and their children. Growing up, I didn’t have a father, so it especially warms my heart to meet families and hear how much their wrestling viewing experiences and memories mean to them. Then again, there is an audience that loves the extreme, and you want to cater to them, too.

When you see your favorite stars going to the extreme, you may want to blame the promotion. Honestly, though, it’s the talent who will usually make the calls in the ring. While I credit talents who go to the extreme in terms of violence inflicted upon themselves for their passion and courage, I also want talent to have longevity and to graduate from this world healthy and able to function.  Our bodies go through enough with all the bumps, not to mention the travel and schedule. Personally, I’m at a place careerwise where I’d like to avoid extreme matches – unless it’s a true big value add to the company.”

Mone also gave her thoughts about Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander’s Chicago Street Fight match at AEW All Out 2024 being one of the best women’s matches of this year.

“Okay, here I am talking out of both sides of my mouth. After sharing some strong thoughts on extreme wrestling, I’ll state, hands down, Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale’s street fight absolutely stole the show. It was one of the best women’s matches of the year, and one of the greatest women’s street matches I have ever seen-ever! I mean it. I couldn’t take my eyes off the monitor. Kris and Willow hooked me from go. Our women’s division just keeps ascending.”

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AEW News & Notes

As noted before, Julia Hart has been out of action for AEW since this past April due to a shoulder-related injury. In a recent Q&A article, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Hart been in attendance backstage at a recent AEW show. Johnson reported that the reason for Hart’s visit was likely for a medical checkup on her recovery progress. Johnson also reported that a timetable for Hart’s potential return is currently not known.

AEW and Ring of Honor talent Anthony Ogogo announced on Twitter that his wife gave birth to a new baby girl for their family on September 6th.

Chris Jericho filed a trademark for “Hi Guys” on September 10th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

In a recent interview with AMNY, Adam Copeland stated that he and his wife Beth Phoenix are currently considering the idea of opening a new wrestling school. Copeland stated “One thing we have talked about is maybe starting a type of finishing school, where, if there are people within the industry that feel like they’re just missing a little something, [well] come on down to Asheville because you got FTR, you got me, and you got Beth Phoenix. We’re debating that and then just seeing if that’s a time commitment that we even have at this stage.“

In a recent interview with Fightful, Daniel Garcia gave his thoughts about his hometown of Buffalo’s love of professional wrestling. Garcia stated “Buffalo is a tough city to be in. That’s the thing about these cities that are cold and there is not a lot going on. We have to have something to look forward to. That’s why we go so hard for these sports teams, even when they stink, and why we go so hard for random things. Whenever wrestling comes to Buffalo, it always does really well. People are looking for something to do and they’re looking for a distraction. I feel that’s what sports and wrestling is in cities like Buffalo where it’s like, ‘We need something to root for and something to keep our minds off the cold and to entertain us. Why not wrestle? Why not the Bills even though they lost 13 games this year?’” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, Bryan Danielson gave his thoughts about in-ring wrestling being a form of storytelling in wrestling. Danielson stated “WWE kinda having a monopoly on the industry in the United States for so long, people think there’s just one type of storytelling. But wrestling’s told many different types of stories, in many different ways, throughout you know, for decades.“

In a recent digital exclusive backstage interview with AEW, Ricochet gave his thoughts about getting to reunite with Chuck Taylor. Ricochet stated “That’s awesome. Chuck Taylor, bro. Literally my first day of training, he was there to help me out, and he’s been there basically my whole career. So to answer your question, it feels awesome to be here, All Elite Wrestling, where the best come to wrestle. Not only that, but I have so many friends in the back, it honestly feels like home to me, so I’m just ready for the future and what I got to do here at All Elite Wrestling.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

In a recent interview with Sportskeeda’s WrestleBinge podcast, Willow Nightingale gave her thoughts about the stories being told online about AEW’s locker room that have been different than what she has been present for and how the online discourse has become ridiculous. Nightingale stated “Honestly no because I know that there’s a lot of things that make their way onto the internet, and it’s never as it seems. There are stories that I’ve seen about my own locker room that I’ve been present for, and the discourse online is just so out of hand and so ridiculous, so for me to see something like that, I didn’t even want to give it any thought or speculation because I’m like, it’s never what it looks like at first glance. That’s generally the way that I look at most things online and anything that you see from the wrestling media.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

AEW recently announced one new match for this Saturday’s taped AEW Collision show in Dayton, Ohio:

• Yuka Sakazaki vs. Serena Deeb

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

• The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, John Silver, & Evil Uno)
• The Outcasts (Saraya & Harley Cameron) vs. The Hex (Marti Belle & Allysin Kay)
• Konosuke Takeshita vs. Action Andretti
• Roderick Strong vs. BEEF
• Kamille vs. Robyn Renegade