If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
** The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast featured an interview with Rafael Morffi, AEW’s Vice President of Live Events and Touring. Morffi revealed that AEW was considering running the 2019 Full Gear pay-per-view from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York. The pay-per-view ended up emanating from Baltimore, Maryland.
It was a venue, a venue being an Arthur Ashe Stadium, it’s something that we embraced, took over and something we were gonna do right in our infancy. We were, we were. We were gonna have that pay-per-view (AEW Full Gear 2019) on your birthday. We thought about it, Arthur Ashe. But Arthur Ashe, similar to Safeco (Field), where you had that match with Shawn (Michaels) at WrestleMania 19, it’s open-aired even though it has a roof and we were concerned about the conditions, big show in New York, right in the first month of our existence. Let’s play it safe and we were right because if you remember, in Baltimore where we did have the pay-per-view, Full Gear, it was 20 degrees that night in the northeast. I mean, I remember because it was your birthday. So, we had a conversation with Arthur Ashe Stadium and great dialogue, great people, Danny Zausner there, Chris Dudley, great folks. We nurtured that and we were gonna have a show soon after the pandemic date. It was gonna be sometime in 2020. Obviously we didn’t have it. I’m amazed that we were able to keep it under wraps and surprise everyone.
On the topic of matches that have caused a surge in ticket sales, Morffi recalled sales going up for AEW’s UBS Arena show (May 2022) when Jeff Hardy versus Darby Allin was announced.
One I remember last year (match being announced that led to an uptick in ticket sales), we moved a lot of tickets was at UBS Arena, Darby (Allin) versus Jeff Hardy. We really jumped that last week. I think that was May of last year, May of 2021 so, it still happens.
For a portion of Rafael’s career in wrestling, he was with WWE. He stated that WWE running Puerto Rico in 2005 for New Year’s Revolution was a hard sell and it was costly to run a show there.
That was one that we really had to sell hard (WWE New Year’s Revolution in Puerto Rico). I was there, that was my show and something that Ed (Koskey) really wanted to do… and it was costly at that time getting a TV production down in Puerto Rico… We had to get a container with a ring there so that was one idea.
After leaving WWE, Morffi was contacted by Bruce Prichard and Jeff Jarrett who were with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling at the time. He credited them for getting him back into the wrestling business. Morffi said he was burned out, but they got him back into the swing of things and now he’s working alongside Jeff Jarrett behind the scenes at AEW.
I’ll say this, after I left WWE, Jeff Jarrett and Bruce Prichard at the time were reaching out to me because they were at TNA/IMPACT and I owe a lot to Jeff and Bruce for bringing me back into the business. They did (get me back in). I was a little burned out and they got me in and I loved working with Bruce and I love working with Double J. I work with him now. I have great chemistry with Jeff, what we’re doing now (with) the house shows, House Rules we’re gonna do here with AEW but, we get each other, we have great chemistry. We’re great teammates in that regard and I learned a lot from him when he was my boss too in that regard so…
** Looking back on the Cage match against Britt Baker, Thunder Rosa shared on SiriusXM’s show about mental health that after the title win, she wiped the blood off her face and tried to write ‘D.M.D’ on her stomach. Rosa said it was to symbolize that she and Britt will always be connected through blood, whether that be bad blood or what they shared in the ring. She stated that she did not know how ‘heavy the crown was gonna be’ in terms of the title win. Rosa shared that it hurts to look at photos and videos from that time in her career.
I mean, I wanted my opponent to see that her blood was mixed with my blood and I was trying to write ‘D.M.D.’ on my stomach (Rosa recalled about the Steel Cage match she had with Britt Baker). We’re always gonna be together in a way because of what we did for women’s professional wrestling and for history because that match continues to be talked everywhere. Anywhere that I go in for an interview, people see that match, people have talked about that match. We are bond by blood. We’re bond by blood. We’ll be bond by blood forever and no matter if it’s bad blood, you know, or the blood in the ring, we are bond by that and that was a very special moment because for me, that was a culmination of hard work and everything that I said I was going to do until that moment, right? And I honestly didn’t know how heavy the crown was gonna be. I knew it was gonna be tough but I didn’t know how tough it was gonna be so, just reflecting back and seeing those struggles, it’s hard and it’s hard to watch and it’s hard to digest. I can’t watch some of the pictures of some of the moments that I enjoy during that time because it’s so painful. That’s still painful because I can’t do it now and it’s just like you (Dave LaGreca) were saying, being patient. It’s like that’s the only thing I have is just being patient and working on myself every time and not getting upset about things that are out of my control. I can’t let that affect me anymore and how I’m gonna live my day-to-day life and I think the most important part is not having those intrusive thoughts that says, you should have done this, you should have done that, you should react like this, you should not have done that, blah, blah, blah, you are this, you are not worth it, you’re never gonna make it, what’s the point? That’s a lot of stuff and I know a lot of people go through that and they have some serious mental health issues. There’s certain things that they can’t fight. They just don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. They just feel the heaviness and the gloominess that comes with being depressed…
** BBM Sports has an article up with excerpts from Giulia’s interview with Weekly Pro-Wrestling. She told the outlet that she is interested in a match against Sareee.
I have many thoughts about it, but there is no doubt that Sareee is an attractive wrestler, and as I said before, I am interested in Sareee as a wrestler.
Even if I were a fan, I think it would be interesting to see it happen. We are both in different positions and have different experiences from the last time we had a singles match.
** As Dark Order’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds were doing a virtual signing with Captain’s Corner, they commented on Hangman Adam Page reuniting with The Elite.
Reynolds: It’s cool I guess (Hangman Page reuniting with The Elite).
Silver: Do whatever you want.
The duo then weighed in on AEW’s All In event at Wembley Stadium and shared their respective dream matches for the show. Reynolds was asked about a tag match and said himself and Silver versus The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson). On the singles front, Silver said he would like to face Christian Cage.
Reynolds: I think we were all excited about it (AEW All In) and then just seeing the excitement from the presale and all the fan excitement, multiplied it by 10. It’s gonna be awesome.
Silver: It’s gonna be cool, it’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be a big show.
Reynolds: My first thought is us versus The Bucks (for an All In dream match). We’ve had every other tag match against them in AEW except a straight-up tag team match. So, I feel like that would be it.
Silver: Might say, off the top of my head, I could change it, Christian (Cage).
This coming weekend is AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view. Alex Reynolds said hopefully he’ll be in the Blackjack Battle Royal for the International Championship alongside John Silver.
Reynolds: My first time in Vegas. I wasn’t there last year (for Double or Nothing). First time in Vegas so, we’ll see. Hopefully we’re in this Blackjack Battle Royal.
** NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes guest appeared on Stick to Wrestling. He was asked about his role in helping Cody Rhodes prepare for his in-ring return after tearing his pec. Hayes said he learned a lot from Rhodes and added that Rhodes still checks up on him.
It was easy (helping Cody Rhodes prepare for his in-ring return) because I felt like he was already ready to go. I think he just had to dot the Is and cross the Ts and do everything as far as medical clearance goes. But I learned more from him than he — that’s when people are like, ‘You helped Cody.’ Shoot, Cody helped me, and it was just cool to build that bond with him and just pick his brain on a lot of things and him and I, you know, we just wrestled around and it worked and it was a learning experience for me because I’m like, okay, this is (what) working with a top-level guy feels like and it feels good and it feels right and I’m like, oh yeah, I can’t wait to get to this level with these guys because this is easy. Cody’s a phenomenal talent and his brain, I love the way he thinks and he still, to this day, checks up on me and stays in touch.
** Ahead of NJPW Resurgence, Rocky Romero returned to Wrestling Observer Live. During the conversation, Romero stated that Tomohiro Ishii is probably the greatest wrestler to never win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
(Tomohiro) Ishii is probably the greatest professional wrestler to never win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. But, God I would love to see him get a chance one day to win that and I feel like that would be the cherry on top to what an amazing career and what an amazing talent and standout he is.
** wXw Germany pushed out the announcement that they have welcomed on an additional full-time employee and increased the responsibilities of two staffers. In April, it was shared that Peter Tihanyi inked a deal with wXw Germany that goes into effect in June and he’ll be a wrestler and coach. In addition to Peter, joining the promotion full-time is Borbála Szeles. She’s been part of the promotion’s team for a few years and is now Head of Graphic Design and Live Production starting June 17th. It is official that Daniel Ferguson is taking on the role of event manager and will be in charge of the administrative side of the events on site. Christina Neuber has been with the promotion’s social media team for years and is going to be heading up that department. wXw Germany then thanked Dennis Birkendahl, who is exiting after eight years. He was the Creative Director.
** Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson teased the return of their Talk’n Shop podcast.
Oooooooooh I have been preparing #TalkNShop 🍾🍻🎉🦅 https://t.co/OmdS8djvE0
— “The Big LG” Doc Gallows AKA Sex Ferguson (@The_BigLG) May 20, 2023
** STARDOM Results (5/21/23) Toyama Industrial Exhibition Hall in Toyama, Japan
– Four-Way Match: Ami Sohrei def. Aya Sakura and Saya Iida and HANAKO
– Syuri def. Ruaka
– Suzu Suzuki & Mei Seira def. Mariah May & Jessie
– Giulia, Maika, Mai Sakurai & Thekla def. Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe, Starlight Kid & Saki Kashima
– Tam Nakano, Natsupoi & Yuna Mizumori def. Mina Shirakawa, Waka Tsukiyama & Xena
– Saya Kamitani, Utami Hayashishita, AZM & Lady C def. Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, Koguma & Hanan
** Pro Wrestling NOAH Sunny Voyage Results (5/21/23) Kobe Sambo Hall in Kobe, Japan
– Hajime Ohara & Hi69 def. Alejandro & Super Crazy
– HAYATA, Dragon Bane & Lancelot def. Xtreme Tiger, Dante Leon & Alpha Wolf
– Dave The Clown Masato Tanaka, Kazuyuki Fujita & Kendo Kashin def. Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura & Shuhei Taniguchi
– Sean Legacy, Chris Ridgeway & Yoshinari Ogawa def. Kaito Kiyomiya, AMAKUSA & Junta Miyawaki
– Daga def. Eita
– Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima def. Masakatsu Funaki & Shuji Kondo
– Good Looking Guys (Jake Lee, Anthony Greene, YO-HEY & Tadasuke) def. Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura, Atsushi Kotoge & Seiki Yoshioka
– AJPW World Tag Team Championships: Kenoh & Manabu Soya (c) def. Suwama & KONO
** Adding on to Sareee’s in-ring schedule is an event hosted by the ‘Evolution’ promotion on June 4th.
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応援よろしくお願いします！！！❤️🔥 https://t.co/uGw6VSbUzE— Sareee (@Sareee_official) May 19, 2023
** There’s an interview on the Monthly Puroresu site with Sareee.
** Dragongate Japan Pro-Wrestling Results (5/21/23) Sapporo ii-one Stadium in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
– B×B Hulk & YAMATO def. Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii
– KAI def. Punch Tominaga
– Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda def. Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi
– Kota Minoura & Ben-K (w/ Minorita) def. U-T & JACKY ‘FUNKY’ KAMEI
– Open the Brave Gate Championship: Jason Lee (c) def. La Estrella
– Three-Way Trios Match: Madoka Kikuta, Yuki Yoshioka & Dragon Dia def. Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu & Strong Machine J and Shun Skywalker, Diamante & H・Y・O
** May 21st birthdays: Elton Prince.
** A clip from Mustafa Ali’s chat with SOUNDSPHERE MAGAZINE.
** Saraya was interviewed by Adrian Hernandez.
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
