Here’s what matters today in wrestling 👇
Image Credit: AEW
The New Level made their debut at AEW All In this past Sunday, winning the Trios Championship alongside Swerve Strickland. When Austin Creed & Kofi left WWE, many of us figured that they’d end up in AEW. After all, it’s where WWE tag teams go to extend their careers, and Kofi & Austin had been on borrowed time in WWE for a while. AEW made sure to put them in the ring with Cage & Cope, the Young Bucks, FTR & the Motor City Machine Guns just to show how many tag teams there are and how many dream matches there are to be had. The next few months should be great times for fans of tag team wrestling.
There’s always going to be a backlash from a portion of the fanbase when AEW brings in WWE guys. Some of it for the younger folks is tribalism. Older folks like me, we remember when TNA brought in WWE guy after WWE guy in their early existence, and all that most of those guys did was bring down established TNA talent. For every Kurt Angle & Christian Cage trying to elevate the talent & the company, there was a Booker T or a Sean Morely there to collect a paycheck. I still remember when they had Shannon Moore beat AJ Styles on television and Moore immediately signed back with WWE afterwards. I could see some AEW fans wondering why a tag team that was de-pushed & de-valued by WWE for the last couple of years should get a spot over younger, perhaps fresher talent. I truly believe that Austin & Kofi are an exception to the rule. I was critical of their direction on Raw for months, but I made sure to point out that I believed they could benefit from a change of scenery. Here’s a change of scenery, let’s see what the New Level does with it.
Maybe Austin Creed & Kofi showing up at All In wasn’t a huge surprise, but our next story involves something that kinda was.
WRESTLING HEADLINES 👊
•Details On How AEW Return Of Britt Baker Came Together
Image Credit: AEW
The Good Doctor made her first AEW on-screen appearance since November 2024 at All In, assisting Persephone in her TBS Championship victory over Maya World. The last few years of Dr. Baker’s wrestling career have been tumultuous to say the least. She missed time from September 2023 to July 2024 with a back injury followed by a mini stroke. Her return to the company only lasted until November and wasn’t exactly critically acclaimed. People said the women’s division had passed her by in the ring, and time missed due to a suspension after a backstage incident didn’t exactly help issues. Her last appearance on AEW television telling Serena Deeb & the fans off microphone “nobody cares” while Deeb was making a challenge pretty much cemented her reputation with some people.
Me, I’ve always been a fan even if she supports those dastardly Pittsburgh Steelers. Britt was AEW’s first female star to really get over with the audience, and even if she isn’t going to be a long-term champion anymore there’s still a spot for her to get heat & help elevate others as a wrestler or as a mouthpiece. We might even get her & Tony Schiavone calling Collision one of these days, who knows?
Britt has recently appeared alongside her longtime hairstylist & associate Rebel during some of her videos covering her ALS journey. It only makes sense to have her involved with the RebelHeart Dynamite coming up on September 9 either as support for Rebel or as a bigmouthed heel berating Rebel only to get her comeuppance from somebody the fans will cheer.
Image Credit: WWE
It’s fair for people to get concerned when they see Kevin Owens being helped to the back after a house show match. Owens didn’t come back from a knee injury this time around, but he’s had them before and they come easier in one’s early forties. After watching the video from the live event, I think the spot was a call back to a gimmick from a few years ago. Remember when the Miz claimed to have massive balls? Well, KO’s kick was close to that region, and perhaps kicking the massive balls caused more pain to KO than it did to Miz. Hey, it’s pro wrestling. It’s allowed to be stupid sometimes.
MORE MUST-READ LINKS FROM 411MANIA
→Hall's WWE Raw Review 8.31.26
→Ask 411 Wrestling: How Many Times Did Steve Austin & Undertaker Wrestle Each Other?
→Pantoja's AEW All In 2026 Review
Thanks for reading,
– Steve Cook