There was much anticipation ahead of AEW’s Casino Battle Royale match, with the 21st and final entrant, also known as the joker, set to be a surprise. Both Andrade and Paul Wight had been heavily rumored, but it ended up being Lio Rio making his debut for the promotion. He’d receive a huge pop, and you can watch his entrance for yourself below.

#LioRush is here!#AEWDoN #CasinoBattleRoyale pic.twitter.com/fzhw0nKj5D

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) May 31, 2021

The highly talented cruiserweight entered with a crossbody off the top rope onto Isiah Kassidy and a reverse hurricanrana on Marq Quen of Private Party. He would then hit a Spanish Fly on Kassidy and initially avoided elimination by Matt Hardy before hitting him with a Stunner after coming off the bottom rope. However, while attempting to throw both Kassidy and Quen over the top rope, he was eliminated by Matt Hardy from behind. Ultimately the match was won by Jungle Boy.

Rush, a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, was part of the companies mass cuts in April 2020, and while he did contemplate quitting the business to focus on music and even wrestled a retirement match against Joey Janela, he would return a few months later. Since then, he has competed for MLW, New Japan, and even wrestled as a Spider-Man-inspired character called Aracno at AAA TripleMania XXVIII. He also appeared on MTV reality show The Challenge, quitting the show citing mental health reasons. As of writing, it isn’t known if he has signed a deal with AEW or was one time appearance.

It has been reported by PWInsider that Mark Sterling, Bear Bronson, and Bear Boulder have all signed contracts with AEW. Previously the trio was working on Tier 0 deals which meant they received a signing bonus and exclusivity in terms of the first option. Now though, they are full AEW wrestlers under a base contractor agreement.

Last year he appeared on AEW as MJF’s lawyer and lost a match to Jon Moxley, and now he is aligned with Jade Cargill. The 38-year-old began wrestling in 2002 but stepped away from the squared circle after less than a dozen matches. He’d return in 2015 to wrestle on the independents, and up until his AEW debut, his most high-profile appearance was for WWE in 2019, where he worked as an enhancement talent against The Viking Raiders. Additionally, some fans may know him from Matt Cardona and Brian Myers’ Major Wrestling Figure Podcast.

Bear Bronson and Bear Boulder compete as the tag team Bear Country, and while they have wrestled on Dynamite, they more regularly appear on AEW DArk. They began teaming on the indies in 2017, and before wrestling for AEW, worked promotions such as Beyond Wrestling and CZW. Bear Bronson started wrestling in 2015 and is aged 25, while Bear Boulder debuted in 2012 and is aged 31.

John Huber, known better to wrestling fans as Brodie Lee and Luke Harper, tragically passed away last December at 41. AEW would put on a moving tribute show, which saw each match feature at least one member of The Dark Order, and Huber’s eldest son Brodie Lee Jr. was awarded the TNT Championship belt his father previously held in an emotional segment. Now during this weekend’s AEW Fan Fest event, Brodie Lee Jr. was presented a second title belt, this time the Dark Order Championship.

10 gave -1 a Dark Order Championship pic.twitter.com/JBj4qpoRKP

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) May 29, 2021

Shortly after his father’s death, Lee Jr., who is known as -1 in the AEW, was given an official contract with the promotion, which becomes valid when he turns 18. So if he chooses, he can follow in his father’s footsteps and perhaps one day deliver a discus lariat in memory to his father on Dynamite. While nothing will ever make up for losing a father or husband, it is tremendous that AEW is doing all they can for the Huber family, not only now but long term.

With Shaquille O’Neal having been retired from basketball for almost a decade, many were skeptical on how he would perform in the wrestling ring. However, he exceeded everyone’s expectations when he teamed with Jade Cargill to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet on Dynamite. The match’s highlight saw Shaq take a bump through a pair of tables from the ring apron and ensured the clip would be picked up by media worldwide.

Fans have since been wondering if Shaq was one and done in an AEW ring, and the NBA legend was asked this recently on Inside The NBA on TNT about this. Shaq would confirm he is returning by responding, “Soon. This summer.” This now opens up the question of who Shaq will face. He could resume his feud, Cody, alternatively with Paul Wight on AEW’s roster it’s possible the battle of the giants match WWE failed to deliver at WrestleMania 33 may finally occur.

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was reported that WWE has been in talks with New Japan Pro Wrestling about a potential partnership for months. The belief is that discussions began regarding Daniel Bryan and his desire to work for both WWE and New Japan at the same time. However, with the Japanese promotion currently working with AEW and Impact Wrestling, it would be one of the biggest wrestling stories in recent years if an agreement was reached.

Now though, AEW’s Tony Khan has cut a promo reminiscent of Eric Bischoff during the Monday Night Wars, which has been shared on AEW’s social media. He lists everything that AEW has achieved with New Japan during the time WWE has been in apparent talks with them and confirms they have future plans. He goes on to taunt WWE’s President and Chief Financial Officer, Nick Khan, saying there is only room for one Khan in the wrestling business. Finishing by referring to WWE’s Khan as a “con-man from Connecticut.” You can watch the video for yourself below.

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For those unaware, Nick Khan is the most influential non-McMahon family member in WWE and actually made more money than all the McMahon’s combined, thanks to being paid $13 million in 2020. This is especially remarkable when you consider he only joined the company in August of that year. He was brought into the company to negotiate big-money television distribution arrangements and was influential in the Peacock deal. Although by the sounds of it, he has his work cut out for him to get a WWE and New Japan relationship up and running.

Last week Patrick Clark, who wrestled as Velveteen Dream, was released by WWE, with the belief was that it was related to serious accusations previously made against him. While he denied the claims and WWE investigated and cleared him, his name was tarnished, and any time he performed, fans on social media would bring up the allegations.

Now in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it has been reported that the former NXT stars release was not related to this. Apparently, it was due to an incident that a top talent in the company informed management about. Specific details weren’t provided, but it does seem that Clark was involved in more than his fair share of controversy, and the company decided he wasn’t worth keeping on their roster.

Earlier this week, Clark would address the allegations in detail on his Instagram account and stated that while Velveteen Dream is officially over, he lives to fight another day. It wasn’t made clear whether he intends to continue his career. Although addressing these allegations may help restore his reputation, as many considered his previous silence to be an admission of guilt.

As Paige can no longer wrestle, she now focuses much of her time streaming on Twitch, where it’s speculated she makes around $45,000 a month. Although it should be noted due to WWE’s policy with working with third parties, some of that money may go against her downside guarantee. Regardless of the specifics, she is doing well and is incredibly popular on the platform. However, as of writing, she is currently banned from streaming due to airing copyrighted material.

Her channel currently reads, “Sorry. Unless you’ve got a time machine, that content is unavailable,” with the reason being she broke the companies policy by hosting a watchalong of the Jim Carrey comedy classic Dumb and Dumber. Twitch takes copyright infringement seriously and took her channel offline midway through the film.

Twitch states, “It is also our policy to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers,” so seemingly, Paige will get another opportunity to stream in the future as this is her first ban. Although from now on, she will need to be on her best behavior and strictly adhere to the compies rules.

Eva Marie returned to WWE television on the May 3rd episode of Raw, having departed the company in 2017. Her return came in the form of a video vignette in which she asks fans, “do I have your attention?” and “this is Eva-Lution.” Since then, it has been revealed that “Eva-Lution” wasn’t just a throwaway line, and it is going to be a part of her gimmick as the company filed a trademark application for the term.

Marie is expected to receive a big push, and she has been hard at work at the Performance Center working on her in-ring abilities. However, a new report by Fightful Select has claimed that WWE doesn’t intend for her to be a regular wrestler “but to use as a vehicle to help get another female talent over.” It wasn’t revealed which other wrestler she is set to be associated with, although it does make sense as she does have charisma and a great look and gets a reaction from fans, but was lacking when it came to wrestling during her last run.

Marie signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2013 and quickly got a role on the E! reality show Total Divas. This also led to her being rushed to the main roster. She’d eventually disappear from television to train with Brian Kendrick before appearing on NXT in 2015 and then returning to the main roster in 2016. Due to wanting to focus on other projects, she’d leave the company, and would compete on Celebrity Big Brother, became an ambassador for Monster Energy’s Reign brand, and started a fashion range with Ryderwear in Australia.

Tom Phillips, real name Thomas Hannifan was part of Raw’s commentary team until the episode after WrestleMania. He would lose his seat to former ESPN host Adnan Virk who had been hired on the recommendation of his previous agent Nick Khan. With Virk ultimately not working out and having already left the company, many fans had hoped this would lead to Hannifan returning to Raw. However, instead, WWE has given the lead announcer role to MMA commentator Jimmy Smith who is set to begin next Monday.

It’s now been reported that despite WWE recently announcing Hannifan would be overseeing special projects for WWE’s programming, he has actually been released by the company. It isn’t known the exact date he was released, and as of writing, WWE has not commented on his departure.

Hannifan had been with WWE since 2012, joining the company just two years out of college. Initially, he conducted backstage interviews for WWE’s app before commentating on all of WWE’s shows (Raw, SmackDown, NXT, NXT UK, 205 Live, Main Event) and the now-discontinued Superstars.

Finn Bálor was The Fiend’s first victim, and following a virtual squash match at SummerSlam 2019, the Irish wrestler was off television for two months. He used this time off to marry sports journalist Verónica Rodríguez and heal up. He’d return to NXT on October 2nd, which was when AEW Dynamite debuted on TNT with WWE, trusting his star power would help the show in a ratings battle with their new competition.

Now in an interview with Fox Sports, Bálor has discussed his return to NXT, which at the time was considered a demotion by some. He’d also admit that he wants to return to one of WWE’s two main shows, feeling that he didn’t accomplish all he could during his previous run.

Bálor is one of the best wrestlers in the business and is known worldwide. With NXT now on Tuesdays and no longer acting as counterprogramming for Dynamite, it feels there is little point in him being on the WWE’s third brand. Having been away for almost 18 months, a return to either Raw or SmackDown would open numerous fresh rivalries. Fans would readily accept the former Universal Champion being slotted into a title program with either Bobby Lashley or Roman Reigns. Additionally, the return of his “Demon” persona seems an ideal opponent for The Fiend, especially considering the duo’s history.

Mikey Whipwreck went from one of the ring crew to ECW Champion thanks to his ability to play a sympathetic babyface and the masterful booking of Paul Heyman. While best remembered for his time in ECW, where he memorably tagged team gold with Cactus Jack and Tajiri, he also had a brief spell in WCW, which allowed him to showcase his ability to a worldwide audience.

The ECW original has been out of the spotlight for many years and has only been wrestling sporadically since 2015. However, his legacy continues due to many of the wrestlers he has trained over the years becoming stars in their own right, including Matt Cardona, Curt Hawkins, Trent, Jay Lethal, and John Silver.

Worryingly though, Whipwreck has revealed that he is currently having a hard time via a statement posted on Twitter saying he will no longer be making public appearances. He says this is due to both medical and mental issues, including problems with his speech, daily migraines, getting easily confused, and being unhappy about his appearance.

While there are countless negative stories abound about many wrestlers nowadays, Whipwreck has always been considered one of the good guys by fans. Therefore, it is a shame he will no longer be meeting with those he sacrificed his body to entertain. Seemingly the style of wrestling he helped pioneer in ECW is having long-lasting adverse effects on him, with it appearing he may sadly be suffering from CTE.

In 1998 The Rock told Vince McMahon he wanted to use the term “SmackDown” in a promo, and after explaining to McMahon, it meant giving someone an ass whooping, he got the go-ahead. One year on, the word had become synonymous with The Rock, and WWE would name their new show after it. Now over two decades later, Fox’s official WWE Twitter account would post the show’s old logo and asked who the first person fans thought of when seeing it.

The Rock would be named countless times, which drew his attention, and he commented that the first name it made him think of was Downtown Bruno, also known as Harvey Wippleman. The reason for this is because it was actually him who created the name. It isn’t clear if he came up with the word or it was his idea to name the show SmackDown, but it’s a fantastic acknowledgment either way.

The Rock and longtime WWE employee Harvey Wippleman were colleagues in the mid-90s and early 2000s. However, they had met many years earlier when The Rock left Hawaii to live with his father, Rocky Johnson, and instead staying with Wippleman in a motel. During this time, Wippleman would buy The Rock his first car for $40 from a drug user, and the Hollywood star didn’t forget it. He would repay his friend by giving him a truck to say thank you last year and shared the video on his Instagram.