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AEW GRANDSLAM NOTES, DANIELSON DISCUSSES HIS HEALTH, BOWENS ON INCLUSION IN AEW LOCKER ROOM & MORE

To anyone who's planning to attend AEW Grand Slam this Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, AEW will begin taping Dark - Elevation at 7 PM.  I'd advise that if you plan to get merchandise, arrive as early as possible as the lines at TV tapings for merchandise are always exceedingly long.

Unlike last year, the NYC subway's 7 train, which services Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Citifield Stop, is not scheduled to have any construction or maintenance work this week, which should make leaving the stadium a lot easier than it was last year.

AEW tweeted the following:

AEW's Seattle debut will go on sale on 9/23.

Bryan Danielson was interviewed by WDEL in Delaware about AEW Grand Slam this week and when asked why he continues to come back from injuries and concussions to perform, he commented, "I legitimately thought I was healthy, and still think that I'm healthy. One of the reasons I was forced to retiree was not because of the concussions, but because I lied about that. You have to understand from WWE's point of view, I had been wrestling for them for six years, but then all of a sudden they opened this Pandora's box about lying about his medical history, and now we can't trust him. A lot of that was building the trust back, but they were also legitimately looking after my health. Going to see doctor after doctor, and doing everything that I could to improve brain function to show above and beyond that my brain was healthy.  It's also my love of wrestling. It felt like I wasn't really to be done yet. I still needed to come back. I also think there's a lot left on concussion research to be done, and when you're seeing the top doctors in the country and they're all clearing you to do what you love to do, I think you should be able to do that."

Anthony Bowens was interviewed by The Asbury Park Press and discussed The Acclaimed's big moment this Wednesday against AEW Tag Team Champions Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland.  On signing with the promotion, Bowens noted, "When I got there as an extra before I had a contract, I would see people like Sonny Kiss and Nyla Rose walking around openly without feeling any judgment and people celebrating them and supporting them.  I struggled with my self-acceptance and identity, and that was always a huge fear. ‘Will the locker rooms accept me? Will national audiences on television accept a successful gay man as a professional wrestler?’ " Those were all very scary things to think about because at the time there wasn’t very much of any representation other than Darren Young, and even he had somewhat of a downward trend after he came out. So it was very worrisome.  But as time went on, the business started changing. We still have a ways to go, but AEW has an extremely inclusive roster in the sense that I never have to worry about that all. As a matter of fact, if it ever does come up, it’s in a very positive, supportive way. And that’s one of my favorite things coming to work, that I don’t have to worry about that."

 

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