Sports
MJF’s Career-Defining Feud is Here and Top Takeaways From 2022 AEW All Out Results
0 of 6
Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker are headed for splitsville following AEW All Out/Credit: All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling presented its All Out pay-per-view Sunday night, live from Chicago, with several newsworthy events on the minds of the company’s faithful audience.
There was the return of MJF after months of speculation, the questionable booking of both Chris Jericho and Ricky Starks, the breakout of The Acclaimed and the beginnings of a breakup between Dr. Britt Baker DMD and trusted enforcer, Jamie Hayter.
Dive deeper into those topics and more with this recap of the September 4 extravaganza.
1 of 6
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Few acts in AEW entered All Out hotter than The Acclaimed.
A babyface turn over the summer, a reunion with Billy Gunn and a few catchphrases had them riding a wave of momentum into the event and the fans in Chicago repaid their hard work to develop both creatively and in the ring with one of the loudest ovations of the night.
An ovation that extended well beyond their entrance and trademark pre-match rap.
The crowd was red-hot for the tandem, cheering them at the expense of tag team champions Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. The support only grew louder and more passionate as Anthony Bowens and Max Caster came closer to dethroning the champions.
By the time Bowens found himself fighting through what appeared to be a severe knee injury in pursuit of his championship aspirations, there was little denying who the fans in suburban Chicago wanted to see leave with the titles.
They did not and the crowd voiced their displeasure, but in defeat, Bowens and Caster earned the biggest win of their young careers. They are made men, accepted by a die-hard fan base that can be difficult to please but is incredibly loyal once they are won over.
Caster and Bowens may not have left Sunday’s pay-per-view offering with the titles, but their future is bright. They are marketable, have an undeniable connection with the audience and now have proven they can thrive on a big stage, under the brightest lights, and with lofty expectations placed on them.
They are the future and their performance in their first major championship opportunity confirmed as much.
2 of 6
First things first: the final match of the tournament to crown the first AEW World Trios Championship was very, very good.
The Elite, Dark Order, and Hangman Page exhibited extraordinary chemistry, kept the crowd hanging on every spot, and teased the next evolution of Page’s story with his former friends. It set the bar and nothing else on the show came close to eclipsing it.
With that said, the predictability of the tournament did somewhat undermine what was a great match.
Tony Khan essentially tipped his hand six months earlier by admitting that he was waiting for Kenny Omega to come back before introducing the tag titles. From there, he booked a tournament that felt destined to end with The Best Bout Machine and The Young Bucks holding the title high overhead in victory.
By the time The Elite made it past Will Ospreay and Aussie Open on the final Dynamite before All Out, it felt even more like a given that the trio synonymous with AEW would win the titles.
No, that is not the wrong call. Their exploits on the Being The Elite YouTube show garnered fans and helped set the table for All Elite Wrestling to exist in the first place, so by no means is rewarding them with the historic first reign a bad thing.
Perhaps building intrigue by creating even the slightest bit of doubt that The Elite could actually go all the way and win the titles would have better suited the moment.
Even the story involving Omega and his injured body was tossed aside, nowhere to be found Sunday night. There was no KT Tape or athletic tape protecting his injured ribs. That story, so integral to his first night back and his return as a whole, was neglected completely as Omega competed at full strength.
That inconsistency, combined with a total lack of mystery as to who was leaving the show with the titles, managed to hurt what was a significant moment and the fantastic match that preceded it.
3 of 6
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Ricky Starks spent the last month dropping the FTW Championship to Hook, feuding with The Factory in a third-rate TV program, ran from said faction, was beaten down by them backstage, and beat QT Marshall in his most prominent in-ring appearance.
That booking was enough to raise a few eyebrows. By the time he ate a spinebuster and lost to Powerhouse Hobbs in mere minutes Sunday night, it became apparent that it was time to sound the alarm in regards to his booking.
A charismatic star with all of the potential in the world to be the star of AEW’s future, it felt very much like All Out was his platform to establish himself as such with a win over his former tag team partner.
Instead, he lost in short order, an extended squash even.
There will be some that tout the idea of strengthening Hobbs to propel the storyline forward but Starks had been so poorly utilized, despite an impassioned and emotional promo that won the crowd over, that even a win a month or two down the line may be too late.
Starks earned better than his treatment Sunday night. There will be a sentiment across social media, perhaps even from Tony Khan himself, that the Louisianan is still a major part of plans for the future and that this loss was merely a roadblock in his path to greatness.
That may be the case, but recent booking trends in regards to young, up-and-coming stars in AEW suggest there is still reason to be skeptical.
4 of 6
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
The long-awaited breakup between Dr. Britt Baker DMD and Jamie Hayter is on the horizon following Sunday’s Four-Way match for the Interim AEW Women’s Championship.
Late in the match, Hayter had the championship in her sights, only for the good doctor to selfishly pull the referee out of the ring and break up the count.
From there, she nearly pinned Hayter and even teased a Lockjaw, proving once and for all that the egotistical former champion is only out for one person: the good doctor.
The fans in Chicago were overwhelmingly behind Hayter, wanting her to win the match and title throughout. That Baker was the cause for her not realizing their collective dream made for a great moment and will prove the ignition point for a rivalry that in theory, should make Hayter and major babyface in the division.
Keep in mind: despite her willingness to interfere on behalf of Baker, Hayter has never joined in on the DMD finger shtick that Baker and Rebel do routinely, suggesting she has never been completely sold on the partnership and that she has always seen through her associate’s chicanery.
Ala Batista during his time with Evolution and, more recently, Wardlow with MJF.
It is a story that works and, hopefully, one that AEW executes correctly to the benefit of the Brit.
5 of 6
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Chris Jericho defeated Bryan Danielson Sunday night with a low blow and Judas Effect that continued a trend of big match wins that’s both questionable and reminiscent of a guy with whom he once had a professional rivalry with, Triple H.
In 2002 and 03, it was clear that the Triple H who earned Match of the Year candidacy every time he set foot in the ring was gone. He was a step or two slower and the overall quality of his work dipped significantly. That his booking reflected that of someone clinging to their spot, beating opponents that made no narrative sense for him to defeat, did not help matters.
While Jericho remains an asset to AEW based on his star power alone, there is no denying that the hero booking that has resulted in eyebrow-raising victories over Danielson and Eddie Kingston, in particular, is problematic in the same way The Game’s was two decades ago.
No, he is not beating guys cleanly, but there is a very real case to be made that he should not be beating them at all.
His win Sunday over Danielson came at the expense of a guy who already lost to Daniel Garcia a month ago and is still chasing that definitive AEW win that has eluded him dating back to the time-limit draw against Kenny Omega last year and his title match loss to Hangman Page a few months later.
The win over Kingston in the Barbed Wire Everywhere Deathmatch robbed the Mad King of a win that had been months in the making. Rather than paying off that feud with the most logical, slam-dunk booking decision, there was, Jericho inexplicably went over again for reasons that have yet to play out on television.
Yes, he is a legend. No, his ability to evolve, adapt and change to fit the current scene cannot be denied. Jericho is one of the best to ever do it, but he is no longer a guy that, A) needs protection creatively and B) should be winning matches against hotter babyfaces when the story clearly calls for him to get his comeuppance.
Some will say, “shut up and let it play out.”
Sure, maybe that is the call. Since the company’s inception in 2019, though, shutting up and letting it play out typically ends with Jericho’s arm raised in victory and unbiased viewers wondering why it was necessary.
6 of 6
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
MJF returned to AEW Sunday night following CM Punk’s victory over Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship, revealing himself to be the Joker and winner of the Casino Ladder Match roughly four hours earlier.
While he did not explain his apparent association with Stokely Hathaway or any of the manager’s recent acquisitions, he did label himself “the devil” and express that he was coming after his former idol and the top prize in the company.
How this impending main event run ultimately turns out will very likely determine the future of the scarf-wearing villain’s time in AEW.
MJF is a virtuoso performer who can talk, emote, elicit cheers or boos and back up every word out of his mouth with his performance in the ring. He is the young star around whom the company should have been built a long time ago and was rightly pissed about taking a backseat to more recognizable stars from other companies.
Whatever real-life heat existed between him and his employers appears to have been smoothed out enough to instigate his return to television.
With the revolution in the worked voicemail from Tony Khan to MJF that was played prior to the return that he does not have to sign an extension for missing time and will be a free agent come 2024, Khan and AEW officials have one shot to get this right.
Push him to the heights he and so many believe he’s worthy of or risk letting him waive goodbye to the company in just under two years.
A feud with Punk, whom he previously worked to great results, is a step in the right direction. Whether he wins, or is even presented as an equal to the champion rather than a bitter fan boy, is the key.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury in U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages Thursday after ruling that the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.
The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
The NFL said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.
Should the NFL end up paying damages, it could cost each of the 32 teams approximately $449.6 million.
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement. “We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.
“We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit.”
The trial lasted three weeks and featured testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“Justice was done. The verdict upholds protection for the consumers in our class. It was a great day for consumers,” plaintiffs attorney Bill Carmody said.
During his closing remarks, Carmody showed an April, 2017, NFL memo that showed the league was exploring a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, where cable channels would air Sunday afternoon out-of-market games not shown on Fox or CBS.
The jury of five men and three women deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching its decision.
Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is scheduled to hear post-trial motions on July 31, including the NFL’s request to have him rule in favor of the league because the judge determined the plaintiffs did not prove their case.
Payment of damages, any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded.
The league maintained it had the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs said that only covers over-the-air broadcasts and not pay TV.
Other professional sports leagues were also keeping an eye on this case since they also offer out-of-market packages. A major difference though is that MLB, the NBA and the NHL market their packages on multiple distributors and share in the revenue per subscriber instead of receiving an outright rights fee.
DirecTV had “Sunday Ticket” from its inception in 1994 through 2022. The league signed a seven-year deal with Google’s YouTube TV that began with the 2023 season.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco but was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez ruled last year the case could proceed as a class action.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Olympic team is one of a handful that will supply air conditioners for their athletes at the Paris Games in a move that undercuts organizers’ plans to cut carbon emissions.
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland said Friday that while the U.S. team appreciates efforts aimed at sustainability, the federation would be supplying AC units for what is typically the largest contingent of athletes at the Summer Games.
“As you can imagine, this is a period of time in which consistency and predictability is critical for Team USA’s performance,” Hirshland said. “In our conversations with athletes, this was a very high priority and something that the athletes felt was a critical component in their performance capability.”
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada and Britain were among the other countries with plans to bring air conditioners to France.
Olympic organizers have touted plans to cool rooms in the Athletes Village, which will house more than 15,000 Olympians and sports officials over the course of the games, using a system of cooling pipes underneath the floors.
The average high in Paris on Aug. 1 is 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). The objective is to keep the rooms between 23-26 degrees (73-79 degrees Fahrenheit). The rooms will also be equipped with fans.
“I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view,” Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has said about the plans for the Olympics.
According to the International Energy Agency, fewer than 1 in 10 households in Europe has air conditioning, and the numbers in Paris are lower than that. The study said that of the 1.6 billion AC units in use across the globe in 2016, more than half were in China (570 million) and the United States (375 million). The entire European Union had around 100 million.
The Olympics mark the most important stop on the athletic careers of the 10,500-plus athletes who will descend on Paris, which has led some high-profile countries to undercut environmental efforts for the sake of comfort.
“It’s a high-performance environment,” Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Strath Gordon explained to The Post.
___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers seemed determined to keep playing. And playing. And playing.
The teams opened their Eastern Conference final playoff series with Florida’s 3-2 victory in four overtimes early Friday, with the game ranking as the sixth-longest game in NHL history.
Matthew Tkachuk’s goal came at the 19:47 mark of the fourth OT to end this one, which marked the 15th four-overtime game in NHL history and the longest game in franchise history for each team.
The longest game in NHL history came on March 24, 1936, when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Maroons 1-0 in the sixth overtime on Mud Bruneteau’s goal at 116 minutes, 30 seconds of extra play.
Florida’s previous record for longest game was 104:31 in Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado. Carolina’s previous record was 114:47 for Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup final.
The only good news for the teams is they had an extended break before this series began. Carolina closed out New Jersey exactly a week earlier, while Florida eliminated Toronto a day later.
But this game ended roughly six hours after Thursday night’s puck drop, and the teams have a Game 2 in less than 48 hours.
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
