AEW Roundup: Thronebreaker shirt, interest in Michael Wardlow

Today’s AEW Roundup looks at the promotion’s continued interest in Michael Wardlow, a pitch for a United Kingdom tour, new merchandise, and the delicate relationship between AEW and NJPW.

Cody Rhodes’s destruction of a throne with a sledgehammer at AEW Double or Nothing has now been captured on a T-Shirt.

It was a clear shot at Triple H, and symbolized Rhodes shattering the limitations placed on him by WWE as an executive of a well-funded wrestling promotion. In short, this was a personal, emotional moment for Rhodes, just as it was controversial to the neutral observer.

Wrestling fans can purchase the “Thronebreaker” shirt, which is available on Pro Wrestling Tees.

The artist’s rendition of the throne is quite good, and I’m sure the shirt will be popular among diehard AEW fans who love the fact that the promotion is pointedly going to war with WWE.

Others will be turned off by the shirt and see it as tacky, but this one is for the diehards. And as my colleague Tom Colohue noted, it’s wise for AEW to play up the “war” angle, since it puts them on an even plane as WWE when comparing the two promotions.

All that matters to AEW is that enough people buy this shirt, and I can say that the design is strong. AEW, like any major promotion, have to cater to both the fans who will watch any form of wrestling passively and their hardcore base.

This one is for the latter, and it is the hardcore fans who will likely make them their most money off of merchandise. The hope is that their base of fans willing to spend on merchandise will grow as people take notice of the quality of their programming. (Assuming the quality remains high.)

AEW Video Game

Just something to look forward to…

I mean, we do need more wrestling video games, and a strong effort from AEW could push WWE 2K to be even better. The WWE 2K series is one of my favorites, but any fan of sports video games will tell you that healthy competition makes games that much better. You know…kind of like competition in wrestling.

And this photoshop from TNT? SICK. Especially Cody’s smirk in the background.

AEW UK Tour?

WhatCulture’s Pete Hurley made note of an interesting tweet from well-connected promoter Martin Goldsmith, who once helped WWE branch out in the United Kingdom.

Goldsmith tagged Tony Khan, Brandi Rhodes, Cody, and The Young Bucks in a tweet about merchandising, citing the influence he’s had on other major wrestling promotions like WWE, TNA, and the UK’s World of Sport. The tweet also included an AEW logo in the print of the Union Flag with the words “United Kingdom Tour” below the logo.

Hurley points out that key personnel like Conrad Thompson and Chris Jericho also liked the tweet, suggesting something could be brewing. The logo in the tweet is especially intriguing.

AEW will want to become a global brand with their TV deal, and they have widespread popularity globally. The biggest stars on their roster have held titles in NJPW, and they already have working relationships with wrestling promotions in Mexico and Japan.

The United Kingdom is another hotbed for wrestling talent and have some of the world’s most passionate fans. This will be huge for AEW.

Interest in Michael Wardlow

Perhaps the biggest positive of AEW is its introduction of up-and-coming wrestlers. Thanks to AEW, many wrestling fans know about Nyla Rose and Hikaru Shida, and there should be more standouts on the independent scene ready to become household names on TNT this fall.

According to the Wrestling Observer News’s Dave Meltzer, AEW are interested in signing Michael Wardlow, who is a three-time champion in IWC and a rising star in the midwest.

Meltzer’s report confirms the speculation generated by the “Road to Fyter Fest” video, which featured the words “Wardlow Vignette” behind Cody Rhodes on a whiteboard.

As Last Word on Pro Wrestling managing editor Jamie Greer pointed out, Cody has praised Wardlow in the past, telling AEW announcer Jim Ross in April that the promotion has “looked strongly at” Wardlow as an option. Wardlow also tried out for WWE in the same class as Chelsea Green, Robbie E, and Dorin Dickerson.

Wardlow’s achieved plenty of success in the region, and he could be a breakout star with the spotlight on him.

His physique and character work are strong, and he could be a great heel on the AEW roster. Furthermore, Wardlow has a legit fighting background, having trained in boxing and jiu-jitsu; this can give him another X-Factor as a high-upside signing for AEW.

Classy Tweet

Bill Goldberg and The Undertaker had a match in Saudi Arabia that was less-than-ideal, as the two men took some harsh bumps.

Most wrestling fans understandably made their jokes and criticized the veteran wrestlers, with future Universal Champion Matt Riddle saving the harshest criticisms for Goldberg. (And some in wrestling haven’t forgiven Goldberg for injuring Bret Hart.)

Amidst all this negativity towards two wrestlers who are hopefully doing OK health-wise after a rough match, it was nice to see AEW’s Cody Rhodes send a classy tweet when asked about the match by a fan during a Twitter Q&A.

That’s a perfect response.

AEW Music

AEW had some pretty sweet themes for their new talent at Double or Nothing, and I did enjoy the sludgy theme for Dustin Rhodes.

According to Brandi Rhodes, Mikey Rukus is the individual responsible for most of the new themes. You can follow him on Twitter here.

Judging by his love for Marty Scurll’s theme, Rukus has great taste, and the Double or Nothing themes were fantastic. I’m excited for what else the AEW music team can concoct, especially with more shows on the horizon and more rising stars to introduce to the wrestling fandom.

A great theme can make all the difference, as Scurll himself could probably attest.

AEW not sure about acknowledging Moxley’s win?

Jon Moxley is the new IWGP United States Champion after pinning Juice Robinson in an unsurprisingly excellent match. Officially booked for the G1, too, Moxley is taking his star power to NJPW and elevating both his game and the status of the promotion.

Right now, Moxley is one of the biggest stars in wrestling, and both AEW and NJPW are wise to capitalize on that.

However, the Wrestling Observer News’s Dave Meltzer reports that AEW aren’t sure if they will acknowledge Moxley’s status as NJPW’s US Champ. WhatCulture’s Andrew Murray did an excellent job of detailing the subtle friction between AEW and NJPW, which may be ultimately caused by NJPW’s working relationship with ROH.

Both AEW and NJPW should acknowledge each other, since there’s no use in pretending otherwise.

Diehard wrestling fans know that Moxley is the IWGP United States Champion, and that would be a positive thing to tout on AEW’s programming. Likewise, NJPW would benefit from hyping up the impact Moxley is making in the United States as one of AEW’s top stars, though their situation could be more complicated due to potential influence from ROH.

Pro wrestling is messy like this, and it needs to change. Moxley himself loves pro wrestling and wants every promotion to be united and successful, so it would be especially saddening if there were any pettiness or politics preventing all promotions working with Moxley from celebrating his global success outside WWE.