AEW NEWS - AUGUST 2025

[The Natural]

14 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

It’s less about liking Bailey and more about really disliking MVP.

I can agree to that.

[JLowe]

I think there is something to AEW rumors getting blown out of proportion by bad faith people getting “encouragement” from WWE to divert attention from all their bad press and programming.

But I have also been confused about the Hurt Syndicate booking lately, and acting more like faces/tweeners. I was convinced the only reason they had MJF join them was to try and get them heel heat. 

[just drew]

I mean, I feel like Hurt Syndicate is being booked exactly how they should be. They’re huge. They’re charismatic. They’re athletic. They have legit credibility. They look great in suits. They should be eating up geeks on the reg. The problem is more that no other team has been booked to that level to where they would look like credible threats. I do think they need to get the belts off of them at sOme Point, so that Lash & Hangman can tear the house down. 

[twiztor]

35 minutes ago, just drew said:

I mean, I feel like Hurt Syndicate is being booked exactly how they should be. They’re huge. They’re charismatic. They’re athletic. They have legit credibility. They look great in suits. They should be eating up geeks on the reg. The problem is more that no other team has been booked to that level to where they would look like credible threats. I do think they need to get the belts off of them at sOme Point, so that Lash & Hangman can tear the house down. 

i would largely agree, with the exception of FTR. 

three years ago, the tag ranks were pretty much decimated when they introduced trios titles (which somehow also never felt like a thriving division?). two years ago, the tag ranks should have been in rebuilding mode, but were instead just kind of downplayed in importance. Last year, the Bucks had a stranglehold on the belts. Now the Hurt Syndicate is destroying everyone. In a vacuum, that wouldn't be a big deal, but it really has left us a void of no credible threats.

The tag division needs rehabbed, BADLY. Even the ongoing tag tournament brackets feels like a bunch of thrown together or jobber teams. That's a problem.

[Niners Fan in CT]

6 hours ago, HarryArchieGus said:

Glad you enjoyed it, but it’s not exactly a stretch to say Jetspeed came out of that feud worse than when they entered.

Yes, I enjoyed it for the reasons in my post.  If some of you didn't that's cool too.  

[username]

This all reads like some people don't like MVP and like... is anyone really surprised to hear that? Sig notwithstanding I think we've all heard enough rumblings over the years for that to not be all that shocking.

The bit about MVP not wanting them to lose to FTR is the interesting bit but also not exactly the most solid, so I guess that is a wait and see.

This is also sort of left unstated in all of this but yes, if you take some older people with no connections there and put them over everyone who has been at the place with them giving nothing back (so far) then yes some people will resent it. Also water is wet and human nature is human nature.

...The MJF deal and its abrupt ending (and also never having gone anywhere at all) is legit odd and I would wager there is probably something there, no clue what though.

[AxB]

MVP is in his 50s and from Florida... is it not possible that he might dislike Speedball for being French (Canadian)? Or because Speedball is a he/they non-binary person?

But yeah, most likely it's bullshit, or a very minor molehill made into a mountain because someone wants News Aggregation Websites to stop writing about how WWE is wrong for bringing Sex trafficker Brock Lesnar back.

[NikoBaltimore]

I know this is in the TV thread and Bluesky stuff won't embed.  But I hope this puts some of that stuff to bed.

 

[COLETTI]

It would be really funny if that little story was made up but told to somebody they suspected internally of leaking to the dirt sheets... 

[Dolfan in NYC]

21 hours ago, Casey said:

Basically quit wrestling like Elayna Black and Mandy Rose did when they found out how much money is in the Onlyfans gig.

Also she's into light right-wing grifting, as she appeared in the video for the song "Can't Cancel This".  

[ExcellenceofAirPollution]

5 hours ago, COLETTI said:

It would be really funny if that little story was made up but told to somebody they suspected internally of leaking to the dirt sheets... 

It definitely crossed my mind

[Technico Support]

7 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Also she's into light right-wing grifting, as she appeared in the video for the song "Can't Cancel This".  

Is that to the tune of U Can’t Touch This?”

[Niners Fan in CT]

9 hours ago, COLETTI said:

It would be really funny if that little story was made up but told to somebody they suspected internally of leaking to the dirt sheets... 

Good possibility.  Either way I'm glad that The Hurt Syndicate and Speedball squashed the rumors.  The focus should be squarely on the terrible people that brought back Brock Lesnar. 

[Go2Sleep]

I will say the Hurt Syndicate booking seems somewhat disjointed or "off" for lack of a better term relative the rest of AEW's booking. They almost seem to exist in their own universe like late-stage Cody. Their presence is killer and the matches have been good for the most part, but it definitely feels like there's more people contributing to their stuff than the other segments.

It's too bad Buddy can't get healthy because the Hounds of Hell vs. Hurt Syndicate is a money match. Brodido has been catching on, though, and with the impressive accomplishment of finding a finisher that stands out in 2025, they might be a serviceable replacement.

[Dolfan in NYC]

I didn't realize that Sagat came from the Little Phuket section of Winnipeg.  

Spoiler

 

[HarryArchieGus]

16 hours ago, Go2Sleep said:

I will say the Hurt Syndicate booking seems somewhat disjointed or "off" for lack of a better term relative the rest of AEW's booking. They almost seem to exist in their own universe like late-stage Cody. Their presence is killer and the matches have been good for the most part, but it definitely feels like there's more people contributing to their stuff than the other segments.

It's too bad Buddy can't get healthy because the Hounds of Hell vs. Hurt Syndicate is a money match. Brodido has been catching on, though, and with the impressive accomplishment of finding a finisher that stands out in 2025, they might be a serviceable replacement.

Dug the Matthews/King duo fine, but much prefer the ‘suitable replacement’. Getting Brody out of the political dark cloud that was House of Black feels like a long needed move. Progress!

Edited August 8, 2025 by HarryArchieGus

[Ramo2653]

On 8/5/2025 at 3:00 PM, Marcel said:

Dustin Rhodes needs double knee replacement, gives update on wrestling future - F4W/WON

Double knee replacement at 56.....ouch.  Best wishes to Dustin.

I remember we were mentioning how Dustin hadn't had any major surgeries in his career and then this happens.

On 8/6/2025 at 9:33 AM, The Natural said:

One of the worst world champions in wrestling ever. Jinder Mahal never should have won the WWE Championship, the racist promos against Shinsuke Nakamura who never recovered losing to him at SummerSlam 2017 thanks to the stupid senile old man in charge.

IMO of course, but I feel like Nak had recovered from the Jinder stuff by the time he won the Rumble. The issue is that he lost to AJ at WM and then turned into "no speak English" and ball hitting guy. That was the nail in the coffin for him ever getting a big run. And who knows, maybe he never wanted that and we're aware of his up and down effort in NJPW at times.

[Niners Fan in CT]

Some news from WON: 

 

'ALL IN' is now projected at 180K-185K PPV buys.  Huge number.  

Also,  'Forbidden Door' has sold over 14k tickets so far.  It is already the third largest non-WWE gate in history with a couple weeks to go.  

[Curt McGirt]

On 8/1/2025 at 1:30 PM, stuntmanc said:

I mean, the next step in AEW's violence progression would absolutely have Kasai walking to the ring with a Meat Cleaver Board, so I'm all in for that

Literally in the "violence progression" category that they use for their gimmick matches, it would probably involve a razor board and the gusset plates too. I just don't know which one would be last...

[AxB]

In the ICW NHB show in Sheffield, during the Atticus Cogar vs Otis Cogar match, they brought this structure of light tubes into the ring that looked so outlandish, we spontaneously burst into a chorus of:

"What the fucking,
What the fucking,
What the fucking hell is that?
What the fucking hell is that?"

Good match though. They went to hospital afterwards, it was free because United Kingdom.

[Curt McGirt]

You know the goobers are gonna chant "FUCK YOU SPEEDBALL" at some point now. Also, I am 100% in on the Syndicate but nobody is bringing up that old-ass Shelton is absolutely killing it when probably nobody thought that would happen. What was he even doing before this, TNA?

I love love love Ms. Nightingale to death but these promos recently are like word salad that means nothing, except they make her laugh. And her alone. 

[Ramo2653]

1 hour ago, Curt McGirt said:

You know the goobers are gonna chant "FUCK YOU SPEEDBALL" at some point now. Also, I am 100% in on the Syndicate but nobody is bringing up that old-ass Shelton is absolutely killing it when probably nobody thought that would happen. What was he even doing before this, TNA?

I love love love Ms. Nightingale to death but these promos recently are like word salad that means nothing, except they make her laugh. And her alone. 

He was in the catering/Main Event vortex in WWE before he got cut last year (or they let his contract run out, they never make the distinction). I think he did a few indy dates after his 90 days ran out before signing with AEW.

[Curt McGirt]

Here's something I didn't know (and probably you too): the Death Riders was the name of a Hell's Angels feeder club that eventually patched over up in Montreal. If the name wasn't dead I highly doubt Moxley would have had carte blanche to name his group that. 

[SovietShooter]

3 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

If the name wasn't dead I highly doubt Moxley would have had carte blanche to name his group that. 

Correct me if I am wrong, but when Mox first went to NJPW, they introduced him in a vignette where they showed him wearing a leather jacket with "Death Riders" on the back - I believe the story is that they just picked this jacket up at a thrift shop, and had no clue what it meant, just that it looked cool. Mox is just rolling with it...

 

 

[Curt McGirt]

That really does look cool/cheesy, and is not at all the biker jacket, which you can see here all blurry on the one guy to the right. It's just a be-skulled motorcyclist running towards you. Apparently they were a puppet club that they used for their dirty work like a lot of others. 

It appears there are a ton of other Death Riders out there? I couldn't find a single other photo of that goddamn cutte. 

(Also, it amuses me greatly that of all people it's Juicey Boy Robinson that Mox sees on the TV to piss him off haha)