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Welcome to another exciting edition of the AEW News Roundup, where we assemble all the biggest news stories coming from the world of All Elite Wrestling.
We'll begin today's column with a seven-time world champion who appears to have taken an indirect shot at Goldberg. Meanwhile, a rising star has expressed gratitude towards Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Interestingly, Tony Khan seems to be continuing his signing spree, as he recently announced inking a deal with a female MMA star.
Aside from these lead stories, we have some more intriguing news to wrap up in today's edition. So let's not wait any further and dive straight into the news roundup.
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#5. AEW veteran CM Punk takes an indirect shot at WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg
CM Punk has spoken highly of WWE legend Goldberg in the past. However, The Second City Saint's recent comments suggest he may not feel the same way anymore.
After his victory over MJF at AEW Revolution, Punk sat in on the post-show media scrum to discuss a broad range of topics. The straight edge star spoke at length about his admiration for Bret Hart and said it was a crying shame that the Hitman's career was cut short.
Although Punk didn't name-drop Goldberg, he referenced the superstar in a circuitous criticism of people who get paid millions to perform in Saudi Arabia.
The AEW star believes The Excellence of Execution should have had that money and opportunity:
"I love Bret Hart. Bret Hart's career was cut short. And it's a god d**n tragedy because there's people who go over to Saudi Arabia and they get paid millions of dollars. And that should have been Bret, ya know?"
The reference is somewhat transparent given that Bret Hart's wrestling career was cut short due to a rogue mule kick from Goldberg. In the past, The Hitman has criticized The Myth for being an unsafe worker, rating his in-ring skills as 0/10.
#4. Keith Lee lauds WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Keith Lee recently turned the clock back to Survivor Series 2019, where he emerged as the star of the night for his breathtaking performance.
The Limitless was part of Team NXT, who collided with RAW and SmackDown in a 15-man traditional Survivor Series elimination match.
Though Lee didn't come out as the sole survivor, he managed to hang with Reigns and Rollins as the final three men in the bout. Lee recieved a massive rub from the two and even managed to eliminate Rollins before falling to Reigns.
While speaking on Talk is Jericho, Keith Lee credited The Tribal Chief for letting him decide the finish of the bout alongside The Architect. The AEW star said he's also thankful to Rollins for paving the way for him:
"Roman left it up to me to call the last bits of me, him, and Seth. Me and Seth had the time, (Roman) was busy, so we kinda put things together. It was weird, coming from NXT and having to do that, but I also felt honored and kind of trusted by those guys to be able to do that. And I think it was odd for Seth to just have to do the favor for me unexpectedly, but graciously he did it and we had a good time doing it." [25:59-26:30]
While Keith Lee impressed everyone that night, he couldn't replicate his NXT success on the main roster. After WWE released him last year, Lee found a new wrestling home in AEW.
Despite working in a different promotion now, Lee's comments suggest that he holds immense respect for both Reigns and Rollins.
#3. Tony Khan set to sign Paige VanZant on AEW Dynamite this week
Paige VanZant could be a massive addition to the women's roster!
Tony Khan recently took to Twitter to announce that MMA star and American Top Team member Paige VanZant will officially sign a contract with AEW on the upcoming episode of Dynamite.
The company's head honcho revealed that he made a deal with Dan Lambert, offering Scorpio Sky a chance at Sammy Guevara's TNT title in exchange for VanZant becoming All Elite:
"I had offered a 7th spot in the Face of the Revolution match to 2021 winner @ScorpioSky but instead I just bartered with Dan Lambert: Scorpio Sky will challenge the winner of tonight’s 3 way #AEWRampage TNT Title match this Wednesday @ Dynamite + @paigevanzant will sign with @AEW" - wrote Tony Khan.
Khan also clarified that nothing is set in stone yet since he doesn't trust Lambert. Should VanZant sign with AEW, this will arguably be the biggest MMA-pro wrestling crossover in the company's history.
The 27-year-old fighter has made several appearances for the promotion, most notably during the feud between The Inner Circle and Men of the Year last year. American Top Team are currently allied with Men of the Year in an unofficial capacity, and VanZant's singing will likely strengthen that relationship.
Although she didn't wrestle an actual match, VanZant's verbal joust with Jericho was quite popular with the fans.
#2. Keith Lee appreciates Brock Lesnar for doing him a favor in the 2020 Royal Rumble match
Keith Lee's showdown with Roman Reigns wasn't the only captivating moment of his main roster career in WWE.
Months later, he confronted Brock Lesnar during the 30-man Royal Rumble match. The Beast was unleashed that night as he eliminated 13 men, including The Limitless One. Before getting tossed outside the ring, Lee stood toe-to-toe with Lesnar and pushed the WWE Champion to his limits.
While speaking on Talk is Jericho, Lee said he was grateful for his 40-second staredown with Lesnar. He even credited Paul Heyman for making the entire moment buzzworthy through his expressions:
I'm like 'Okay, let's make this thing last. Take 40 seconds and just stare at each other.' I'll let him make the first move and just kind of follow from there, so it was awesome, man. Even, like, Paul (Heyman) obviously is brilliant at what he does and all of that made it such a special three minutes, I'm like 'Gosh.'
#1. Ric Flair speaks on Jeff Hardy's potential AEW debut
Jeff Hardy could soon appear in AEW!
Jeff Hardy's 90-day non-compete clause is on the verge of being up, presumably on March 9. Given all the swirling rumors on the internet, it's almost a foregone conclusion that The Charismatic Enigma will find a new home in All Elite Wrestling.
While discussing the subject on the Wooooo Nation Uncensored podcast, Flair spoke highly of Jeff and asserted that he should debut as a singles star in AEW:
"In my mind, Jeff Hardy is one of the top, still one of the top stars in the business. (...) I'd bring Jeff as a single right now rather than put him with Matt and get a little big run out of Jeff with singles, then you can put them back together, or you can turn them. I mean, Jeff is a very very talented young man," Flair said.
Interestingly, wrestling fans are heavily interested in seeing The Hardy Boyz reunite whenever Jeff arrives in Tony Khan's promotion. As per Fightful Select, The Enigma could show up on the flagship program as soon as this week.
What do you make of these news stories? Sound off in the comments section below.
