What did you think of Raw? Let us know in the comments!
WrestleTalk Patreon 👉 https://www.patreon.com/wrestletalk
Mustache Night War: Draft Day 👉 https://youtu.be/6ibJ7AHFCoE
More wrestling news on https://wrestletalk.com/
Unlock the secrets to working in professional wrestling, sign up to https://www.wrestlingmasterclass.com/
0:00 - Coming Up...
0:19 - New AEW Allegations
3:00 - AEW & GCW Tension
5:45 - WWE Raw Review
New AEW Allegations! New Day WWE HEAT! WWE Raw Review | WrestleTalk
#WWE #WrestlingNews #WrestleTalk #WWERAW #AEW
Buy WrestleTalk Merch here! https://wrestleshop.com/
Sources used for research:
https://www.cagesideseats.com/aew/2024/12/9/24316856/rey-fenix-aew-needed-doctor-ignored-tensions-contract-status-penta-el-zero-miedo-wwe-future
https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1733631/aew-wrestler-possibly-pulled-gcw-shows-following-effy-comments-tony-khan/
Youtube Channel Comments Policy
We appreciate the comments and opinions our viewers provide. Do note that all comments are subject to YouTube auto-moderation and manual moderation review. We encourage opinions and discussion, but harassment, hate speech, bullying and other abusive posts will not be tolerated. Decisions on comment removal are made by the Community Manager. Please email us at support@wrestletalk.com with any questions or concerns.
WrestleTalk Patreon 👉 https://www.patreon.com/wrestletalk
Mustache Night War: Draft Day 👉 https://youtu.be/6ibJ7AHFCoE
More wrestling news on https://wrestletalk.com/
Unlock the secrets to working in professional wrestling, sign up to https://www.wrestlingmasterclass.com/
0:00 - Coming Up...
0:19 - New AEW Allegations
3:00 - AEW & GCW Tension
5:45 - WWE Raw Review
New AEW Allegations! New Day WWE HEAT! WWE Raw Review | WrestleTalk
#WWE #WrestlingNews #WrestleTalk #WWERAW #AEW
Buy WrestleTalk Merch here! https://wrestleshop.com/
Sources used for research:
https://www.cagesideseats.com/aew/2024/12/9/24316856/rey-fenix-aew-needed-doctor-ignored-tensions-contract-status-penta-el-zero-miedo-wwe-future
https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1733631/aew-wrestler-possibly-pulled-gcw-shows-following-effy-comments-tony-khan/
Youtube Channel Comments Policy
We appreciate the comments and opinions our viewers provide. Do note that all comments are subject to YouTube auto-moderation and manual moderation review. We encourage opinions and discussion, but harassment, hate speech, bullying and other abusive posts will not be tolerated. Decisions on comment removal are made by the Community Manager. Please email us at support@wrestletalk.com with any questions or concerns.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00More allegations in the Rey Fenix AEW story, a mess between AEW and another wrestling promotion,
00:07New Day Heat, New Day Heat and more.
00:12I'm Oli Davis, and this is the WrestleTalk News.
00:19After months of Penta reportedly telling people backstage in AEW that he was going to WWE
00:24as soon as his contract expired, he is now officially a free agent.
00:31And everything's gone to crap.
00:32Penta's AEW contract was supposed to expire at the same time as his real-life Lucha Bro
00:37tag team partner Rey Fenix.
00:40But because Fenix had missed time due to injury, AEW have added on a reported 6-9 months to
00:47his deal, meaning the brothers couldn't leave for WWE as a tag team at the same time.
00:53Something that Fenix is not happy about.
00:56Seemingly waiting for his brother's contract to expire, Rey teased on X over the weekend
01:01that he'll speak his own truth and implied that he received inhumane treatment in AEW.
01:08But because of contractual issues, Fenix said he couldn't speak on his situation right
01:14now.
01:15Well, that lasted about 19 hours, because he then posted, I needed a doctor and you
01:19ignored me for months.
01:22This appears to be the inhumane treatment Fenix alluded to.
01:25Fenix's publicly known injuries are a gruesome elbow dislocation on the January 5th, 2022
01:30episode of AEW Dynamite, which took him out for about four months, and an undisclosed
01:35injury he took time off to recover from in October 2023.
01:39After dropping the International Championship, he had accidentally won from Jon Moxley, remember
01:44that, to Orange Cassidy.
01:45He returned in April this year, where he would then frequently wrestle on Dynamite, Collision
01:50and Rampage, but Tony Khan stopped booking him at the end of July, when rumours of them
01:55leaving for WWE started to come out.
01:58Fenix's comment isn't the only allegation that's been made about how AEW treats its
02:03wrestlers.
02:04In his April interview with Ariel Hawane, CM Punk alleged that no one from AEW talked
02:09to him for six months following All Out 2022, where he both tore his triceps in the main
02:14event and had a backstage fight with the Elite.
02:17This meant he had to research, book and pay for his own tricep surgery.
02:22Whereas if you're in WWE, WWE handle that for you.
02:26When Khan was asked about Punk's claim, he didn't have the best answer, saying,
02:30"...typically we do cover those medical expenses, so I would have to look into that,
02:34but no, I'm not sure about that, I can't say for sure."
02:38LuchaBlog, who is well connected in Mexican wrestling circles, has speculated that Fenix
02:43is teasing his backstage issues publicly as a way to get out of his AEW contract early,
02:49so he and his brother can debut together in WWE.
02:52But never mind heat with an individual wrestler, how about AEW having heat with an entire wrestling
02:59promotion?
03:00AEW and the independent wrestling company GCW have enjoyed a working relationship for
03:05several years now, sharing talent like GCW's deathmatch wrestler Nick Gage trying to slice
03:09open Chris Jericho with a pizza cutter on Dynamite TV, and big stars like Moxley and
03:14Swerve Strickland wrestling at GCW shows.
03:17But the relationship soured last month, when a GCW wrestler called Effie criticised AEW
03:23for running the Hammerstein Ballroom so close to some GCW shows there, and said that Tony
03:29Khan's dad pays him to stay away from him.
03:32AEW then decided to pull Ricky Starks from his advertised GCW appearances.
03:37Fightful Select have now reported that AEW talent Willie Mack has cancelled his GCW dates
03:42this weekend, and that Sean Ross Sapp's GCW sources believe it's again because of
03:47what Effie said about Tony Khan's father.
03:50But Sean's AEW sources claim that isn't the reason.
03:54The situation has become so opaque that Fightful have now deleted their original story, explaining
03:59Just deleting the Willie Mack post until all parties involved can find out who is keeping
04:04who from what.
04:05A very confusing situation for everyone.
04:07Especially me.
04:08I didn't even know Willie Mack was signed by AEW.
04:11But AEW and GCW, AEW and Rey Fenix, that heat is nothing compared to the scorching inferno
04:18that I have with Luke Owen.
04:21Because Moustache Night War, the brand new Patreon exclusive series of Monday Night War
04:26between me and Luke, has now begun.
04:29You can watch the draft episode for free on partsFUNknown right now, and episode 1 right
04:34after on Patreon.com forward slash WrestleTalk.
04:37Then we'll have weekly episodes up there for the next three months.
04:40Here's a clip.
04:41So I've noticed that, um, most people listen to, like, oh, I've got a really good Pokemon
04:51themed cover by Kenny Omega's band, or you say most people, or like, oh, I listened to
04:58Mariah Carey when I was a kid, or, oh, I'm Luke and I like scene queen, you know, any,
05:04anyone.
05:05But no one listens to toxic masculinity motivational speeches.
05:17What do you mean?
05:18Well, because I'm going to win.
05:22You see here, this is my Spotify playlist called Motivation, which I made for this.
05:29And so, do you want to read out these track names?
05:34Discipline yourself, get up and get it done, no limits, mental toughness, outwork everyone
05:40else.
05:41And who's, because that's you, I'm going to outwork you.
05:46Now it's time for my review of Monday Night Raw… in about five minutes.
05:52Gunther kicked off the main show, about to cut an in-ring promo on his World Heavyweight
05:55title opponent Finn Balor for this Saturday's Saturday Night's Main Event, when Balor
06:00and his little rascals interrupted.
06:02Gunther had a nice line about how Finn was the best in the world eight years ago when
06:06he won the inaugural Universal title, but he was just the best for one night.
06:10Gunther is the best in the world all the time right now.
06:14Unfortunately, I'm not vibing with Gunther's more babyface character.
06:18Especially when it gets sucked even deeper into the Judgment Day's mid-court vortex.
06:23Damian Priest attacked the Judgment Day from behind, Gunther attacked Priest, and then
06:27the numbers game won out, with Finn hitting Trois Coups de Grace on Damian to pose with
06:31both his tag team title and Gunther's world title.
06:34Adam Pearce announced that it will now be a three-way at this Saturday's Saturday
06:38Night's Main Event, thankfully meaning Priest will be in there from the start, rather than
06:42us all just waiting for when he inevitably interferes.
06:44Pearce also said that Balor and JD will have to defend their tag titles again next Monday
06:48against the War Raiders, with the rest of Judgment Day banned from ringside.
06:52Despite a neatly built story over the last month, Karrion Kross and The Wyatt Six unfortunately
06:57have a Venn Diagram crossover in the Cool Axe that don't always translate to great
07:02in-ring matches.
07:03A 4-on-4 match quickly broke down, Scarlett Bordeaux tripped Uncle Howdy, which led to
07:08Nikki Kross spookily appearing behind her.
07:10But then extra interference from a returning Paul Ellering, who chucked a fistful of powder,
07:15let the Final Testament get the win, with Uncle Howdy taking the pin.
07:19This is the Wyatt Six's first loss, that had to happen at some point, but by doing
07:23it here in this standard TV way takes away a lot of the Axe magic.
07:28Liv Morgan then won a tune-up match against Dakota Kai ahead of her EO Sky title match
07:32on Saturday's Saturday Night's Main Event, finding an interference finish that is somehow
07:36worse than the Judgment Day.
07:38Pure Fusion Collective.
07:40Sonya Deville distracted Kai on the apron, letting Liv get another weak win.
07:44What a title reign.
07:45Perfect Fried Chicken then beat up Kai afterwards, leading to damage control to make the save,
07:50and Liv to stand tall by laying out EO from behind.
07:53The interconnected drama of CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Drew McIntyre and Jey
07:57Uso had another effectively built chapter this week.
08:00First we had a pre-recorded sit-down interview between Jackie Redman and Punk, where he refused
08:04to talk about the favour he has from Paul Heyman, expertly keeping that plot point alive.
08:09Instead talking about how he's confused about this heat from Seth.
08:13If anything, he helped Seth.
08:15He trained him.
08:16He shielded him on the main roster.
08:19Apparently Seth did a good job filling in for him, but now Punk's returned.
08:23The second string needs to sit back down.
08:26This brought out Seth for a live in-ring promo, dressed like someone I used to know from school
08:30but would actively unfriend on Facebook because of what they look like now, and what they
08:34look like now is a twat, where he explained his side of the story.
08:39Everything Punk said is true.
08:41Punk helped him get into WWE.
08:43But when Punk left, Seth reached out to him and got ghosted.
08:47Because if you didn't quit your dream job for Team Punk, you're evil.
08:51Which sounds like a bit of a shoot being worked into the storyline.
08:53Much love, brother.
08:54HHKiss.
08:55Seth continued saying the only reason Punk is here is because he burned all his other
08:59bridges and the money was right.
09:02Both guys are doing great work building this feud, I just hope they don't stretch it
09:05out for five months until WrestleMania.
09:08This was interrupted by Sami Zayn, where they patched things up from last week, and Sami
09:11announced that he'll fight Drew McIntyre at Saturday's Saturday Night's main event.
09:16Drew had cut a pre-filmed promo earlier, confirming it was him who took out Jey backstage
09:20last week, and he blindsided Sami again in this segment.
09:23It's great to have Drew back.
09:24Zelina Vega only got half an entrance, and Ivy Nair was already in the ring.
09:28Gee, I wonder who's going to win this match.
09:31Lyra Valkyria, of course, who got a full entrance.
09:33She won the very choreographed match that was about 85% near falls to advance to the
09:37Women's Intercontinental title tournament semifinals.
09:40The segment of the show, though, for the last three weeks in a row, goes to the New
09:45Day.
09:46Earlier in the episode, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were shown arriving backstage,
09:50where production guys walked away from them, and Alpha Academy refused to shake their hands.
09:55WWE's moral conscience himself Cody Rhodes even told them to be ashamed of themselves
10:00when they ran into each other backstage.
10:02Interestingly, with Rhodes walking out of Adam Pearce's office, hinting Cody could
10:06be going to Raw in the Superstar Shake-Up.
10:08Like Luke and I predicted in our fantasy draft, go watch that.
10:12Cathy Kelly started to interview the New Day backstage, but they didn't like the biased
10:16way they were asked about Big E. So Woods grabbed a camera for himself as they want
10:20to show their own truth and march down to the ring.
10:23But they weren't able to talk there either, as the crowd gave them incredible heat, chanting
10:28We want Big E, New Day sucks.
10:31You could barely hear Kofi, and Woods had to stop speaking whenever he tried to talk.
10:36The only thing they got to say was that they gave us 10 years of positivity, and the crowd
10:40turned on them after just one day.
10:44They ultimately threw their mics down and left.
10:46I'm so happy for them.
10:47Sometimes audiences cheer wrestlers who've just turned heel.
10:50But this was genuine hate for their characters over what they did to Big E last week.
10:55It's so weird seeing Kofi as a heel, but it works.
10:59And the main event saw Rhea Ripley vs Raquel Rodriguez in an Anything Goes match, complete
11:03with crowd brawling, chairs and a riptide through a table for Rhea to win.
11:07Liv interfered and hit her finisher on Ripley at one point.
11:10It wasn't very effective, but Io took Morgan out.
11:13Ripley was super over, and the closing image of Rhea and Io holding the women's title
11:17between them gave me hope that we're moving on from Liv's tired title reign soon.
11:21This Raw is 70%.
11:24Now go watch the Draft Day episode of Moustache Night War right now over on partsFUNnow.
11:28Here's a clip.