AEW

Ronda Rousey no va a participar en la AEW. La misma ex superestrella de la UFC nos dice que a pesar de no estar firmada con la WWE, se centra en ser una madre, así que no está interesada en la acción por el momento.

TMZ Sports se encontró con Rousey, de 36 años de edad, en Los Ángeles a principios de esta semana. Le preguntamos acerca de los rumores de que podría firmar un acuerdo para convertirse en luchadora de Elite.

"No, no, no lo creo", respondió Ronda.

¿Por qué no?

¡Deberes de mamá! 👶

"Solo trato de estar en casa con la familia y ser una mamá a tiempo completo", respondió Rousey.

Recordemos que Rousey se separó de la WWE en octubre —después de firmar con la compañía en 2018— y desde entonces ha luchado para el Ring of Honor (17 de noviembre). ROH es propiedad de AEW, de ahí toda la especulación.

Pero, Ronda —madre de un bebé de 2 años— dice que no va a pasar nada, al menos no por ahora.

Hay mucho más con el Salón de la Fama de la UFC, que antes de la lucha libre jugó un papel fundamental en la elevación de las MMA femeninas a un nivel que antes se creía imposible.

La carrera de su marido Travis Browne no fue tan mala, él tampoco era un contendiente de peso pesado que venció a los gustos de Josh Barnett y Alistair Overeem.

Le preguntamos a Ronda si permitiría que sus hijos y los de Travis siguieran los pasos de mamá (y papá) y se dedicaran a las MMA, o a la lucha libre profesional.

Swerve Stickland and "Hangman" Adam Page used everything from a barbed wire-wrapped chair to a heavy-duty staple gun to beat the s*** out of each other during last weekend's AEW match. We asked Swerve how he felt after the bloody match, and what part was most painful.

Swerve joined Mojo Muhtadi on "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ... and talked about the Texas Deathmatch at AEW's Full Gear, which Strickland ultimately won. But, he paid a price.

"It was that Hangman Moonsault with the chair and barbed wire. Hangman is a deceptively massive man in itself. Receiving a Moonsault from him at that height and that weight and that speed and velocity already takes a lot out of you," Swerve told us.

"Add in a metal chair wrapped in like probably hundreds of yards of barbed wire wrapped in a spool around it, it just scraped across me, along with Hangman landing across me. Out of all the brutal stuff we did in that match, that was probably the one that stuck out."

With the big match under his belt and Strickland's stock being at an all-time high, we asked him what was next.

Swerve mentioned competing in the upcoming Continental Classic tournament ... but also has his sights set on something more historic.

"I feel like I catapulted myself as one of the top guys in the industry. And I said this before, earlier in the year, I really feel I can be the first African American AEW world champion."

Great matches require two wrestlers putting in work ... and Strickland spoke very highly of his opponent. In fact, he thinks "Hangman" Adam Page could be this generation's Mick Foley.

El AEW's Full Gear, se llevó a cabo en el Forum de Los Ángeles el sábado, y las cosas se pusieron intensas cuando "Hangman" Adam Page sacó una engrapadora y la usó en la cara de Swerve Strickland antes de beber su sangre!

Fue tan desagradable como suena y a los miles de aficionados en el lugar les encantó!

Si eres un fan de la lucha libre, ya sabes la historia; Page y Strickland se odian, y el formato Texas Deathmatch (y la falta de reglas) fue el escenario perfecto para el encuentro.

En última instancia, Swerve inmovilizó a Hangman, derrotándolo, después de un poco de ayuda de Prince Nana y Brian Cage. Pero, es lo que sucedió antes del pin lo que tiene a los fans hablando.

Hangman, sosteniendo una pistola de grapas de alta resistencia, grapó un dibujo hecho por su hijo en la cara de Swerve, al instante la sangre de dibujo. Page entonces agarró el dibujo y lo arrancó, con grapa y todo, de la cara de Strickland.

Mientras Swerve se retorcía de dolor, Adam se lanzó al suelo, agarró la cabeza de Strickland, y comenzó a beber su sangre.

Todo el combate fue brutal y Hangman no fue el único que recurrió al uso de armas. De hecho, Swerve utilizó una silla envuelta en alambre de púas para golpear a Page. Hangman también golpeó a Strickland a través de una mesa envuelta en alambre de púas.

Los hombres hicieron todo menos matarse.

AEW's Full Gear went down at The Forum in L.A. on Saturday, but the match was better suited for the Staples Center ... after "Hangman" Adam Page busted out a Swingline and drove a staple into Swerve Strickland's face, before drinking his blood!

It was as nasty as it sounds ... and the thousands in the building loved it!

If you're a wrestling fan, you know the history ... Page and Strickland HATE each other, and the Texas Deathmatch format (and lack of rules) was the perfect setting for the match.

Ultimately, Swerve pinned Hangman, defeating him ... after some help from Prince Nana and Brian Cage. But, it's what happened before the pin that has fans talking.

Hangman, holding a heavy-duty staple gun, stapled a drawing done by his son to Swerve's face, instantly drawing blood. Page then grabbed the drawing and ripped it, staple and all, out of Strickland's face.

As Swerve writhed in pain, Adam dove to the ground, grabbed Strickland's head, and actually began drinking his blood.

The entire match was brutal ... and Hangman wasn't alone in resorting to the use of weapons. In fact, Swerve used a barbed-wire-wrapped chair to hit Page. Hangman also slammed Strickland through a barbed wire-wrapped table.

The men did everything short of killing each other in the squared circle.

Paul Wight is returning to the ring Wednesday night ... something that might never have happened if not for former NBA star Xavier McDaniel, the first person to tell the Superstar formerly known as Big Show to go into professional wrestling!

Wight dropped by the TMZ offices on Tuesday and sat down with Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show -- ahead of AEW Dynamite's Like A Dragon Gaiden Street Fight match -- where the guys discussed the 7-footer's start in the sport to his in-ring comeback.

The Wight the Wrestler origin story is pretty crazy.

Paul was a center on the Wichita State basketball team in the early '90s, but wasn't exactly Shaquille O'Neal on the court.

Because of his play on the hardwood, McDaniel, a Shockers alum who'd become an NBA star after being drafted with the 4th overall pick in 1985, gave Wight some invaluable advice ... and perhaps paved the way for him to become a titan in the wrestling industry.

"X was always pestering me, and he kept telling me I should go into wrestling. I said 'Man, listen, I'm gonna play in the NBA. That's what I've trained for since I was a kid. This is what I do,'" Wight recounted telling McDaniel (this story starts around the 14-minute mark).

"[Xavier] says, 'Man, you're gonna be the only 7-foot dude who gets cut by the Japanese team. He goes, 'I'm telling you what you need to do. You need to go into pro wrestling and be Andre The Giant's son.' He says, 'Man, you look like Andre. That's what you need to do.'"

"Xavier McDaniel saw the vision on the wall long before it ever happened."

Shortly after, Paul linked up with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff ... and the rest is history.

Now, Wight's wrestling again at 51 years old (it's been a bit since he's performed in the Squared Circle, though he's been signed to AEW since '21) ... and he's teaming up with Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Chris Jericho to take on Hobbs, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, and Brian Cage.

How much longer will he wrestle? Check out the full interview -- we asked him.

AEW está recibiendo serias críticas de los fans en línea después de que algunos de sus luchadores participaran en una historia antisemita el martes por la noche, pocos días después de los atroces ataques en Israel.

El controvertido segmento salió al aire hacia el final del episodio AEW Dynamite de esta semana, cuando el campeón mundial Maxwell Jacob Friedman, que es judío, comenzó un intercambio promocional con Juice Robinson.

Durante la pelea, Robinson y sus compañeros del Bullet Club Gold se burlaban de Friedman y trataban de provocarlo para un futuro combate cuando, de repente, Robinson sacó un rollo de monedas de 25 centavos.

Escrito en el paquete de monedas de 10 dólares estaba el nombre de "Friedman", y cuando Robinson lo mostró a la cámara y luego a MJF, gritó en el micrófono: "¿Sabes lo que hago con estos, Sonny Jack? Rompo las mandíbulas de los idiotas".

La escena fue ampliamente criticada en las redes sociales como antisemita, ya que Friedman ha dicho en repetidas ocasiones que en el pasado, cuando era adolescente, los matones le lanzaban monedas de 25 centavos y le decían: "Recógelo, judío. Recógelo".

Los fans estaban furiosos con la decisión de la organización de lucha libre de convertir todo esto en un episodio, teniendo en cuenta todo el terror que está ocurriendo actualmente en Israel.

Por parte de Friedman, rompió las monedas como parte de la promoción en el programa del martes, gritando a Robinson, "Si te acercas a mí con esas monedas, voy a acabar con tu vida, pedazo de mierda". Más tarde tomó a X para abordar la cuestión nuevamente.

"Esta noche, ese pedazo de mier*** Juice Robinson, decidió sacar a relucir una historia de mi infancia que me ha causado mucho daño", escribió el luchador estrella de 27 años. "Me alegro de que lo hiciera. Ha sacado a relucir algo por lo que todos hemos pasado de una forma u otra en nuestras vidas. En nombre de todos los que alguna vez han sufrido acoso por ser diferentes. Yo también espero causarle mucho daño".

AEW is catching some serious flak from fans online after it had some of its wrestlers participate in an antisemitic storyline on Tuesday night ... just days after the heinous attacks in Israel.

The controversial segment aired toward the end of this week's AEW Dynamite episode, when World champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, who's Jewish, began a promo exchange with Juice Robinson.

During the bit, Robinson and his Bullet Club Gold teammates were taunting Friedman and attempting to bait him into a future match ... when, suddenly, Robinson pulled out a roll of quarters.

Written on the $10 pack of coins was the name "Friedman" -- and as Robinson showed it to the camera and then to MJF, he screamed into the microphone, "You know what I do with these, Sonny Jack? I break idiots' jaws!"

The scene was widely panned on social media as anti-Jewish ... as Friedman has said repeatedly in the past that when he was a teenager, bullies would pelt him with quarters and tell him, "Pick it up, Jew boy. Pick it up."

Fans were irate with the wrestling org.'s decision to turn it all into a storyline this week ... considering all of the terror that's currently happening in Israel.

For Friedman's part, he actually snapped over the quarters as part of the promo on Tuesday's show ... yelling back at Robinson, "You come near me with those quarters, I'll end your life, you piece of s***!" He later took to X to address the matter as well.

"Tonight that piece of s***, Juice Robinson decided to bring up a story from my childhood that has left me scared," the 27-year-old star wrestler wrote. "I'm glad he did. He brought awareness to something we've all gone through in one way, shape, or form in our lives. On behalf of anyone who's ever been bullied for being different in any capacity. I look forward to leaving him scared too."

Adam Cole could leave Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday with two titles ... a night that he tells TMZ Sports would be the "highlight of my career!"

Cole -- who spent nine months on the shelf after suffering a serious concussion in May 2022 -- is challenging MJF for the AEW World Championship ... and Adam says, "The excitement is through the roof for everybody involved."

"It'd be the highlight of my career. It would mean absolutely everything to me," Cole said of winning the World Championship at "All In" after the long hiatus.

"To now be in this situation where I am wrestling one of my good buddies again for the AEW World Title, in the main event of one of the biggest shows of all time, It's amazing!"

Of course, Cole joined AEW in 2021 ... after becoming a star in WWE. Adam and MJF are two of the most popular wrestlers in the promotion, and have an interesting relationship. They're friends, but also rivals.

In fact, the two battled to a 30-minute draw on AEW Dynamite in June ... and later became tag team partners. They've had so much success together, the guys are opening this weekend's show with a match with the Ring of Honor tag team title on the line.

If you're keeping track at home ... Adam and MJF are going to team up together to start the night, and end the night by beating the hell out of each other.

"When we teamed, no, I did not expect the audience to be so invested not in Adam Cole versus MJF, but Adam Cole and MJF together. Which that kind of took a life of its own and it's absolutely wild."

Cole continued ... "I do understand why as far as the chemistry that me and him have. I think we both have a very similar thought process when it comes to pro wrestling and what we think makes a really, really exciting pro wrestling angle, match, show, etc."

"So, it's been very, very cool. I'm glad the fans have latched on to it."

AEW star Darby Allin, known for his death-defying stunts and daredevil personality, tells TMZ Sports he's "dialed in" ahead of his Fatal 4-Way championship match ... and believes a victory could catapult his career to the next level!

Allin faces three other men -- Jack Perry, Sammy Guevara, and the current AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman -- at AEW's Double or Nothing event at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas on Sunday, and he's excited about the opportunity to become the champion.

"My first ever main event in the whole entire company," Allin said. "That's something I've strived for since day one. To be the face of the company. And to be the face of the company, I really believe you need to be champion."

Darby admits he never envisioned headlining an event of this magnitude when he signed with AEW, but now that the moment's almost here, he's got "all the confidence in the world."

"I'm ready to rock it," Allin said.

"This Sunday is going to be special. You got a bunch of young, hungry guys. I guess we all have chips on our shoulders. We got something to prove out there. We're on last, we have to close the show. Got to bring the heat. I'm ready."

Allin -- who once jumped 96 feet over his house in a jeep (he also recently told us he plans to climb Mount Everest next year) -- also told us the stunts he performs have prepared him to be in this main event.

Darby Allin is taking his daredevil reputation to new heights -- the AEW star tells TMZ Sports he plans to climb Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, next year ... one of the most physically and mentally demanding feats known to man!

30-year-old Allin says he's on a mission to surpass what other wrestlers have done before him, not just inside the ring, but outside, too, "pushing the boundaries."

"That's been my whole MO since AEW started," Darby told Mojo Muhtadi, adding, "That's why it's so important for me to meet up with guys like [Travis] Pastrana, and make stuff happen. Do stuff that no wrestler's ever done before."

That's when Darby revealed his intention ... to climb one of the most unforgiving mountains on planet Earth.

"The thing I'm going to be doing next year that no wrestler's done before is climb Mount Everest. You heard it here first."

Of course, at 29,035 feet above sea level, Everest, located in Nepal and Tibet, is one of the most unforgiving and challenging mountains to climb. In fact, hundreds of climbers have died attempting to summit the peak.

Around 4,000 have successfully climbed the mountain.

As daunting a task as it is, Allin's known for his death-defying stunts in and outside the squared circle ... and he seems up for the challenge, telling us he's looking for his "next rush."

You may recall ... last August, DA completed a 96-foot jump over his home in a jeep, calling it the "sketchiest stunt" he had ever attempted.

When we spoke to Darby about the insane jump, he told us he was "terrified" because the stunt car had no breaks or speedometer.

Travis Pastrana helped organize the stunt for Darby last year, and even the notorious action sports star told Darby there was a good chance he'd break his back.

The X Games gold medalist introduced us to Brandon Taylor, who nailed a motocross backflip at his famous "Pastranaland" compound in Maryland ... and the clip is pretty sick!

A young fan was pissed after AEW star MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman) threw a drink in his face at AEW's "Revolution" event, and now the promotion is trying to make things right.

It all went down Sunday night at the Chase Center in San Francisco ... MJF was fighting Bryan Danielson in a 60-minute iron match when he went after a kid in the crowd.

MJF -- widely considered one of the best heels in the business -- walked up to a woman who was standing up for the match, took her drink, then threw it in the kid's face.

The incident drew the ire of the crowd ... you could see and hear fans booing in the clip, and AEW announcer, Tazz, even said on air, "went a little too far there."

After the event, reporters asked the AEW world champion why he threw the drink at the kid, and he said ..."The kid looked thirsty. What's the second question?"

Meanwhile, AEW exec Tony Khan felt differently ... Khan condemned the champ's behavior and said he spent some time apologizing to the youngster.

“We had a serious conversation and I mean that," Khan said. "It’s not to be taken lightly. The young man, Titus, was a real pro about it. We’ll see Titus here again at AEW."

"I believe Titus is actually coming to Sacramento. I was just with him, and he was a real champ about it. The champion didn’t act like a champion there, but I think Titus was great."

Jerry Jarrett, one of the greatest promoters in wrestling history and the father of current AEW star Jeff Jarrett, has passed away. He was 80 years old.

Jerry got his start in the business in the 1960s and 1970s ... working as a referee and wrestler, holding several regional National Wrestling Alliance belts during his career.

In 1977, Jerry defected from the NWA ... and founded his own promotion, the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, where he rose to stardom with Jerry Lawler.

Jerry and Lawler were quite the duo ... and enjoyed success working together, eventually forcing the promotion of NWA Mid-America to sell their territory to Jarrett.

Jerry was influential in the careers of Hulk Hogan and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin ... giving both superstars a chance to make a name for themselves under his CWA promotion.

Jeff's father's legendary career as a promoter includes stints with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he worked as a consultant.

After WWF purchased WCW ... and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) went bankrupt, Jerry launched Total Nonstop Action (TNA) with Jeff in 2002.

Jerry was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2009.

AEW will honor Jay Briscoe with a tribute match this week ... just days after the wrestling star tragically died in a car crash.

AEW honcho Tony Khan announced the details of the match on Tuesday ... explaining Jay's brother and tag team partner, Mark Briscoe, will fight Jay Lethal on Wednesday night in Lexington, Kentucky to honor Jay Briscoe.

Khan said in a tweet that Mark and Lethal, a longtime friend/rival of JB, wanted to fight one another to celebrate the life and legacy of their brother and contemporary in the industry.

Jay and Mark were Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions at the time of his tragic death ... and won multiple championships together throughout their storied careers.

As we previously reported, 38-year-old Jay Briscoe -- real name is Jamin Pugh -- died in a car crash on Jan. 17 in Laurel, Delaware, after a 2019 Chevy Silverado collided with his vehicle head-on.

Tributes, donations and remembrances have poured in for the former wrestler and his family since the tragedy ... with the AEW even releasing shirts to help raise funds for the Pughs in wake of the accident.

"The Pugh family lost a husband, a father, a brother, a son," the promotion said after unveiling the shirts, "and in an effort to both honor Jay's memory as well as support those left behind, we are offering this 'Reach For The Sky' t-shirt with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit the Pugh family as they cope with this tragic loss."

Amazing gesture from AEW ... the wrestling org. is now selling Jay Briscoe shirts following the wrestler's tragic death, noting that all of the tee's sales will go toward his family.

The shirts officially launched this week -- just days after Briscoe, real name Jamin Pugh, was killed in a car crash in Delaware.

The black-and-red threads feature an image of Briscoe with a championship belt, as well as the words "Reach for the sky." They also have his name and the years of his birth and death on them.

Each tee costs $24.99 -- money the AEW, which purchased the Ring of Honor promotion that Briscoe wrestled for last March, says will go entirely "to benefit the Pugh family."

"The Pugh family lost a husband, a father, a brother, a son," the wrestling org. said in a statement Monday, "and in an effort to both honor Jay's memory as well as support those left behind, we are offering this 'Reach For The Sky' t-shirt with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit the Pugh family as they cope with this tragic loss."

As we reported, Briscoe was killed on Jan. 17 after a car suddenly veered into his lane and collided with his 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 head-on. He was just 38 years old.

Briscoe's two daughters were in the car at the time of the wreck, but, thankfully, survived. The wrester's wife asked for prayers for the two girls in a social media post following the crash.

Big Show recognizes Mercedes Mone -- formerly known as Sasha Banks -- is a unique talent ... and tells TMZ Sports any wrestling promotion that signs her is getting a superstar.

We asked Show about the rumors that Mercedes could sign with AEW ... on the heels of her debut with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and he seemed receptive to the idea.

"I think she'd be a tremendous asset to any company," said Show at LAX on Thursday. "She's a star and has an incredible fan following. Any company would be glad to have her."

"For a long time, everyone got spoiled because there was one company to work for. Now there are multiple viable companies again to work for."

Show -- real name Paul Wight -- spent 22 years with the WWE before joining AEW as a wrestler and a commentator ... which is why he sees the value in wrestlers having options these days.

"It gives talents an opportunity to express themselves and create the deals they want to make," Show said. "It gives a chance for someone stagnant in one company to reinvent themselves."

Ultimately, Show believes the advent of multiple wrestling companies -- and those companies flourishing -- is a good thing ... and wrestlers like Mercedes should take advantage of it.

From the squared circle ... to the silver screen?!?

AEW star Chris Jericho is proving once again to be a man of many talents -- landing a starring role in an upcoming wrestling-themed horror flick called "Dark Match."

The pro wrestler, who actually recently had a supporting role as "Burke" in the film "Terrifier 2," will be acting in the movie alongside a star-studded cast that includes Ayisha Issa, Steven Ogg, Sara Canning, Jonathan Cherry and Michael Eklund.

The Dept.9 Studios flick seems scary as hell ... it's said to be about a small-time wrestling company that finds itself in a whole lot of trouble with a cult leader after accepting a gig in a remote area.

Jericho tweeted about it on Friday, saying he was "Stoked about this!"

According to Deadline, the movie recently concluded filming in Edmonton, Canada, a place Chris is familiar with, given his Canadian roots.

The wrestling vet has always excelled whenever he's been in front of a camera ... especially with a mic in his hand, so it's not surprising to see him landing a big role.