Posted By: Ben Kerin on Apr 23, 2026 
Chaos erupted on AEW Dynamite as Jon Moxley and the Death Riders made a shocking late appearance following a brutal in-ring incident.
If you reference any quotes from this piece, please attribute them to the original source, and kindly credit WrestlingNewsSource.com (h/t) for the transcription.
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I do need to preface this by saying that I am over the moon that Samoa Joe is back in AEW. He’s one of the greatest of all time and should be treated as such, and when he was taken off of TV earlier this year after suffering a concussion, it was a real shame considering he was firmly established in the main event scene once again.
On this week’s episode of “AEW Dynamite,” Joe returned at the last minute to face Cody Chhun in what was, in short, a squash match. There’s no problem with that. Joe did his walkaway spot, he hit the Muscle Buster, the fans were super happy to see him back, it served its purpose, and that’s completely fine. However, there has been a common theme running through AEW this year, particularly in the main event scene, where everyone wants their shot at the AEW World Championship, a title Joe held less than four months ago. You would think that after his win, he’d get on the microphone and do what Tommaso Ciampa, Kevin Knight, and Brody King have done in the past seven days: call out the AEW World Champion.
Did that happen? No, it didn’t. What happened instead? Joe walked up the ramp and reunited with Hook, who, as the interim leader of The Opps, had tried to recruit Anthony Bowens, and that’s about it. Will that story go somewhere? Probably, but Joe was one of the many people gunning for the richest prize in AEW at the turn of the new year, so you would think that he would want to get that back almost immediately. But nothing was said by the man himself. There were a few mentions in the commentary, but you need to hear it from Joe that he wants what is rightfully his back around his waist, especially now, since it’s around the waist of Darby Allin who Joe has a long history.
Joe would be a perfect opponent for Darby as well, given their late 2022/early 2023 series fighting over the AEW TNT Championship. Darby has already said he wants to defend it as much as possible, so there is an easy way to get Joe back into title contention. However, it seems like we’re going to have to see Joe clean up whatever mess Hook made with The Opps before anything goes further, and no disrespect to Bowens, but Joe doesn’t have time to waste on recruiting new members to his group.
He’s only been back for a week. I just hope that Joe keeps his eye on the prize, rather than what Hook has been doing since he’s been gone.
Written by Sam Palmer.
![[Left] Nico Ali-Walsh testifies before Senate hearing and [Right] Muhammad Ali speaks to reporters](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/img/gallery/muhammad-alis-grandson-defends-boxing-in-congressional-hearing/intro-1776914380.webp)
Ali-Walsh later touched on what Zuffa Boxing has already shown itself to be, and he feels it is just trying to replicate the UFC model in a boxing setting.
“I don’t know if you’ve seen the Zuffa Boxing events. But if you have seen the events, it, from my perspective, looks very plain. It looks very corporate,” he opined. “In current boxing you have the freedom to have those sponsorships. Unlike in Zuffa where you’re forced to wear their trunks, or you’re forced to not have certain amount of sponsors of whatever their rules they may be in their contract.”
He said as a fighter he knows having those sponsorships, and the autonomy over which and where, provides the opportunity to make more money.
He concluded, “They’re moving that same UFC model over to boxing. You can see it in their events already. And if that model was truly for the fighters you wouldn’t see the $375 million antitrust lawsuit that the UFC had to settle. You wouldn’t see former UFC fighters complaining about pay. You wouldn’t see current UFC fighters begging for raises in their pay. If that model truly worked and it was truly for the fighters, you wouldn’t be hearing so much about money from these UFC fighters.”
Fighter pay has been a constant discourse for UFC over the past few years in particular, given the company’s consistently touted commercial success. Officials have always pushed back against that narrative, but the likes of former UFC Heavyweight Champions Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones have both had public falling outs with the promotion over it.
Ngannou in particular went on to fight in boxing against former World Heavyweight Champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. He will be fighting Philipe Lins on the MVP MMA card streaming on Netflix on May 16, headlined by Ronda Rousey against Gina Carano. Both of which have their own grievances with the UFC after failed negotiations.
WWE NXT developments following Blake Monroe’s recent loss have sparked internal discussion about the future of the Vanity Project faction, with one key name now emerging as a possible addition.
According to one source, Myka Lockwood is being considered as a potential new member of the group if Monroe officially moves to WWE’s main roster. While no decision has been confirmed, the idea has already started to take shape on television.
Lockwood made her first on-screen appearance during Week Two of NXT Revenge in a segment tied directly to the Vanity Project. The storyline involved Shiloh Hill attempting to keep Jackson Drake away from ringside during a key title match.
The angle was built around the Women’s North American Championship casket match between Monroe and reigning champion Tatum Paxley. Hill’s plan was to distract Drake by arranging a date for him, ensuring he would not interfere in the match.
However, the situation changed when the planned date never showed up. Lockwood then entered the scene, quickly interacting with Drake and revealing that Hill had used an AI chatbot to set up the fake meeting. The reveal added a light tone to the segment while also introducing Lockwood into the storyline.
The segment ended with Lockwood leaving the bar alongside members of the Vanity Project, hinting at a possible connection between her and the faction moving forward.
Monroe’s status remains uncertain following her loss, but speculation about a main roster call-up continues. If that move happens, the group may need to fill her role, and Lockwood appears to be under consideration based on early creative direction.
At this stage, the report positions Lockwood as a name to watch within WWE NXT. Her involvement in the segment may be the first step toward a larger role if changes to the Vanity Project become official.
Myka Lockwood Considered for Vanity Project Amid Blake Monroe Call-Up Speculation
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Adam Copeland Issues High-Stakes Challenge to FTR – Adam Copeland made a major statement during 4/22 AEW Dynamite, putting forward a final proposal aimed at securing another shot at the World Tag Team Championship held by FTR.
During his appearance, Copeland addressed comments made by FTR the previous week, which suggested that he and Christian Cage would not be granted another opportunity at the titles. Copeland disagreed with that stance and argued that they deserve one more fair chance.
He explained that he had been thinking about a way to present a compelling offer that FTR could not ignore. That led him to propose a high-risk match designed to settle the debate over who is the greatest tag team of all time.
Copeland challenged FTR to face him and Christian Cage in a New York Street Fight at Double or Nothing. He made it clear that the match would come with serious consequences.
To raise the stakes, Copeland added a major condition to the challenge.
If FTR wins, then he and Christian Cage will retire as a tag team.
The challenge adds another chapter to an ongoing rivalry between the teams. Copeland and Cage previously came up short in their attempt to capture the titles at AEW Dynasty. However, they do hold a prior victory over FTR, as they defeated them before FTR became champions at All Out in Toronto last year.
With each team holding one win, the record currently stands at 1-1. The proposed match at Double or Nothing would act as the deciding contest under the terms laid out by Copeland.
The situation now depends on whether FTR accepts the challenge. If they do, the match would carry both championship implications and the potential end of Copeland and Cage as a tag team.
Adam Copeland Issues High-Stakes Challenge to FTR
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