Welcome to the October 2nd Inside The Ropes Live blog, bringing you the latest news from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT Wrestling and more.
Today’s biggest stories:
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Bryan Danielson was victorious in his long awaited clash with NJPW star Zack Sabre Jr.
Now ‘The American Dragon’ has taken to an AEW YouTube exclusive to reflect on the match and what it means to him to finally have a match like that in AEW.
Check it out below!
Bryan Danielson may have left AEW WrestleDream victorious but that has not deterred Zack Sabre Jr.
The NJPW star’s quest to slay and possibly retire ‘The American Dragon’ continues as he challenges Danielson to a rematch following last nights brutal match.
Check it out below!
Would you like to see Danielson vs Sabre Jr one last time? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
Darby Allin’s AEW WrestleDream main event will likely be remember more for what happened after the bell than before it, but his entrance was truly a thing of beauty.
Relive Darby Allin’s epic entrance during the main event of AEW WrestleDream below!
Since Adam Copeland shocked the world and signed with AEW there have been a mix of reactions from WWE fans online.
Most are delighted to see Edge continue his career, some are worried about what a full time AEW schedule could mean for his health and a small portion are irrationally angry at Copeland for “betraying” the WWE.
But what do the WWE talent think?
As reported by Fightful Select, the overwhelming consensus regarding the move is that those in his old promotion are “happy for him.”
It is also mentioned that The Rated R Superstar left the company on good terms and that the door is always open for a return if he wants to.
You can read the full report on WWE’s feelings surrounding Adam Copeland’s AEW signing, here.
WWE Hall of Famer believes that Dolph Ziggler will return to the WWE to show the world what he can do once again!
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross gave his thoughts on the latest round of releases which also included Mustafa Ali and Shelton Benjamin among others.
Despite Ziggler being released, Ross said it wouldn’t surprise him to see the star return to WWE in a different role.
“Once the dust settles, and you start thinking about roles that he could fulfil, and there are many, not just wrestling, but you know, I listened to somebody maybe some busted open or something the other day that they’re talking about Dolph and he might be a mind for a role much like Adam Pearce is on Raw. And if that’s the case, and he’ll do a great job, ZIggler was a star. And you don’t just cast stars to the side.”
Our friends over at Wrestling Shoot Interviews are back with another banger of a video.
In this clip former WWE star Val Venis reveals a major storyline that Ric Flair had cancelled at the last minute!
Check it out below.
During the AEW WrestleDream post-show press conference, AEW World Champion MJF made a bold claim about the strength of the AEW roster.
After successfully defending the ROH Tag Team Championships in a 2-on-1 handicap match against The Righteous, MJF declared that AEW has one of the best roster of wrestlers in the history of the sport.
“I think bell-to-bell, right now, we have one of the best professional wrestling rosters ever in the history of the sport.”
He then proceeded to list several notable names on the AEW roster, including himself, Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Christian Cage, Malakai Black, Miro, and others.
He expressed how proud he was to be at the top of the mountain with such a comprehensive roster.
Was Mustafa Ali supposed to defeat Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Title?
Here’s what we know!
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez explained that Ali was never supposed to win, and the title change was something of a last-minute decision.
“Ali was not supposed to win. Now, I will say this. They have not announced an NXT yet, but I would not be the least bit surprised if within the next week or two. Trick offers a rematch to Dominik and Carmelo screws him out of the title and we get the belt back on Dominik because clearly, the belt is going to end up back on Dominik soon because he was never supposed to lose it. He wasn’t going to lose it to Ali. And so that would also play into this Carmelo-Trick storyline where Carmelo is jealous. That trick has a title and he does not.” [h/t WrestlingNews.Co]
Do you think WWE made a mistake releasing Mustafa Ali? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
We have another fantastic feature for you, today Inside The Ropes counts down the five greatest last man standing matches of all time!
You can read the full feature, here.
Let us know if you agree with our list by hitting the thumbs below and if you think anything was missing from the list write in using the ‘get involved’ feature and we will share your responses throughout today!
Join Corey Graves and the new NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov on the latest episode of After The Bell premiering live right now!
Check it out!
WWE Hall of Famer Adam Copeland, better known as Edge, has provided some clarity on his decision not to re-sign with WWE and instead “jump ship” to AEW.
Taking to Twitter, Copeland would express his love and gratitude for the WWE and his time in the company,
“But first and foremost I want to address my 25 years with WWE. I love WWE and appreciate everything the company did for me. Always have, always will. They put me on the map, gave me amazing opportunities and through hard work on both ends, I’ve been supplied with a wonderful life.”
However, Copeland would then express that he felt like he and the WWE had simply outgrown one another and were no longer the right match for the needs and desires of one another – highlighting his desire to do more as a key driver behind his decision to leave.
“Sometimes relationships just grow apart and I feel the WWE and I have just outgrown each other. I wanted to do more. They didn’t have much more for me to do. Simple as that.”
Do you think Adam Copeland made the right call leaving WWE for AEW? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
Could ‘Brieeeee Moooooode’ be coming to AEW?
Well according to Bryan Danielson, if Brie Bella wants to sign for AEW “it will get done.”
Speaking to the press during the AEW WrestleDream post show press conference, Bryan Danielson would address recent comments made by, his wife, Brie Bella about potentially returning to wrestling in the near future.
“I will never say never [on Brie returning to the ring],” said Danielson.
I will say this, Brie is the boss in our family. If she wants to come do it, it’ll get done.” [h/t WrestlingInc]
Would you like to see Brie Bella in AEW? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
Paul Wight, previously known as The Big Show talks exclusively to Inside the Ropes about his seemingly underwhelming AEW debut against QT Marshall.
Check it out below!
It has been reported that the AEW locker room is overwhelmingly excited to see Adam Copeland, FKA Edge, sign with the company.
However, AEW World Champion has sent a warning to ‘The Rated R Superstar’ amidst all the celebrations.
During a post-AEW WrestleDream scrum, MJF expressed his belief that Copeland has joined AEW to challenge his position within the promotion.
However, he made it clear that he intends to hold on to his AEW World Championship for a significant amount of time and Copeland has “another f*cking thing coming” if he thinks he can simply walk into AEW and challenge for his spot at the top of the company.
“I think he’s another guy that is coming into my company that wants my spot. And he’s got another f*cking thing coming if he thinks he can take it.
Great signing, though. Good job, Tony [Khan], I’m proud of you. But in all sincerity, a first-ballot Hall of Famer and an incredible professional wrestler.” [h/t WrestlingInc.com]
Would you like to see Adam Copeland challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
Adam Copeland is All Elite, but what does that mean?
During the WrestleDream post show press conference Tony Khan would breakdown elements of Copeland’s AEW deal including how often fans can expect to see ‘The Rated R Superstar’ on AEW TV.
“I would like to announce that Adam Copeland has officially signed with AEW.
Something I’m really excited about, something that I think is going to set this apart, something that got me more excited about Adam being here is that he’s full-time, Adam’s going to be with us every week, he’s going to wrestle he’s a full-time part of the AEW roster.”
Tony Khan would then announce that the WWE Hall of Famer will be on AEW’s upcoming Dynamite & Collision episodes (October 4th and 7th) before making his in-ring debut at AEW Title Tuesday on October 10th, 2023.
Adam Copeland’s debut opponent in AEW has been made official, you can read more on this here.
Aussie Open were unsuccessful in their attempt to capture the AEW Tag Team Championships from FTR at WrestleDream.
But the bad news did not stop there for the former ROH Tag Team Champions.
Taking to Twitter, Mark Davis would acknowledge his and partner Kyle Fletcher’s shortcomings on the show before revealing that he ‘snapped his wrist’ during the match.
Davis wrote:
“Sometimes you win em, sometimes you snap your wrist”
Fans in attendance also noted that following the match Davis was seen being attended to by AEW officials – seemingly confirming the injury.
There is no available information just yet on the seriousness of Davis’ injury and how long he may be out for but Inside The Ropes will keep you in the loop as more information becomes available.
AEW WrestleDream has been and gone and overall the show has received an incredible reception online.
With a plethora of incredible matches and, of course, Adam Copeland’s shock debut, AEW WrestleDream will be remember for a long time.
But fear not, AEW’s WrestleDream is not over as the PPV will return in 2024!
Speaking during the post show press conference Tony Khan would reveal that AEW WrestleDream will return in 2024, however, no set date or location was yet confirmed.
Khan would hype the success of the event, noting that PPV buys were up from AEW All Out and that the show had done an estimated over 100,000 buys at the time of the conference.
How did you rate AEW WrestleDream? Let us know by writing in using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page or by clicking here!
Last week WWE announced that Jade Cargill had officially signed with the company.
The news came as a shock to AEW fans around the world and as it turns out Tony Khan himself as well.
Speaking during the WrestleDream post show press conference, Khan would reveal that he was surprised Cargill signed with the WWE after making not one but two “very big offers” for the former TBS Champion to stay in AEW.
“I knew Jade’s contract had been ticking down and we were talking about a new contract and I was very interested in Jade coming back and we were having a negotiation.
I made a very big offer and I thought it was a very fair offer. I think she was considering it, and then she asked for a bigger offer and then I went up again, and I kind of thought that was going to do it.
Then, it didn’t, which I was surprised because to be honest, I came up to a number that was higher than her original ask. I don’t know what I would have had to do at that point. I was a little surprised. I did really hope that Jade would be back.
I think I tried to handle it, when we were down to the nitty gritty and we were down to the final couple of weeks and we still hadn’t agreed to something, then it was at the point where I said, ‘if you aren’t going to stay, I’m going to give you the best possible exit.’
I have only good things to say about Jade. I really enjoyed working with her. She was a great part of AEW, she is always welcome here, I tried to give her the best possible send off I could. The classiest send off I’ve ever seen in wrestling was, at the time, was when Ric Flair left the WWF. He did a match with Mr. Perfect, who was a natural person for him to wrestle, and that was it, he was gone. They didn’t do anything to embarrass him or mess him up, they let him leave, and he was still Ric Flair. He wrestled the match against the person he should have, finished up and left with not only his dignity and probably a better position than he came in.
That’s what I tried to do. I wanted to give her the best possible send off.” [h/t Fightful]
Do you think Jade Cargill made the right choice leaving AEW for the WWE? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
The AEW WrestleDream main event will be remembered for the events after the bell, however, the match had taken a shocking twist well before that point.
During the main event between Darby Allin and Christian Cage, rising AEW star Nick Wayne would shock the world by turning his back on his friend and mentor Darby Allin and aligning with the ruthless Christian Cage.
With the match in full swing and Christian helpless in the corner, Wayne would assist Allin in clearing house only to swerve everyone in attendance by striking Allin across the skull with the TNT Championship.
Wayne’s mother was then shown in the crowd visibly shocked and disappointed by her son’s actions.
You can check out the moment Wayne turned on his former friend below!
Nick Wayne’s mom sold tf outta his heel turn. #AEWWrestleDream pic.twitter.com/6dmZXDnamI
— Justin Valentine (@JV_Sports_Talk) October 2, 2023
Do you think AEW made the right call turning Nick Wayne heel? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
During the announcement that Adam Copeland, FKA’s WWE Hall of Famer Edge, has signed with AEW, AEW President Tony Khan would also announce that ‘The Rated R Superstar’ is set to be a full time member of the AEW roster and fans will see the former World Heavyweight Champion wrestle more than they ever have before.
Well Khan does not appear to be kidding as Adam Copeland’s first match in AEW has already been announced.
Speaking during the post show press conference, Tony Khan announced that on October 10th at AEW Title Tuesday it will be the debuting Adam Copeland vs former TNT Champion Luchasaurus.
Khan also confirmed that fans can expect to see Copeland on the October 4th & October 7th episodes of AEW Dynamite & Collision respectively.
You can check out the full press conference below!
Do you think Adam Copeland is a good signing for AEW? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
And you thought you knew him!
Following the main event of last night’s AEW WrestleDream PPV, Adam Copeland, better known as WWE Hall of Famer Edge, would shock the world by debuting in All Elite Wrestling.
During the conclusion of the shows main event (2 out of 3 falls match between Darby Allin and Christian Cage) Adam Copeland would debut in the company to the sound of Alter Bridge’s Metalingus saving Allin and Sting from a Conchairto courtesy of his best friend and former tag team partner Christian Cage.
Following the PPV, Copeland would join AEW President Tony Khan for the post show press conference – during which Khan would announce that the ‘Rated R Superstar’ had officially signed a full time contract with AEW.
You can check out the incredible moment that Adam Copeland debuted in AEW below!
Are you excited to see Adam Copeland in AEW? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
Good Afternoon!
I hope everyone is doing well and had a fantastic wrestling filled weekend!
I will be with you from 2pm to 6pm BST (9am – 1pm ET) covering all the biggest stories from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT and more.
We will be kicking things off today with the biggest stories from the last 24 hours including:
