Wardlow Recalls Touching Backstage Moment With Cash Wheeler Prior To TNT Title Win
Wardlow was crowned TNT Champion following an epic victory over Scorpio Sky on this week's edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS. Two-time champ Scorpio Sky put his TNT title on the line against Mr. Mayhem in the opening match, which wasn't quite a squash match, but it still came nowhere close to hitting its 30-minute limit. Wardlow got the win after demolishing Sky with a brutal Powerbomb Symphony for the 1-2-3, earning his first AEW title in the process.
After the bell, Wardlow celebrated with the TNT title belt as he soaked up the adulation of the fans inside Rochester, New York's Blue Cross Arena. The moment was a pivotal one that will be remembered fondly by fans for the remainder of Wardlow's career and beyond. During the most recent edition of Busted Open Radio, Wardlow recalled the moments leading up to the occasion and shared the advice he was given by his colleague Cash Wheeler shortly before the match began.
“I’m normally extremely nervous, on edge and I guess focused, like tunnel vision type focused. And before the match, I was actually much more calm than usual," Wardlow said. "I don’t know why. Cash [Wheeler] gave me a pretty nice pep talk right before. So that might’ve helped calm my nerves. Cash and Dax are always helping me out, those guys are phenomenal. So I think Cash kind of got in my head a little bit, and just reminded me to breathe, have fun and enjoy the moment, and really just absorb it. He was like ‘Tonight could be one of those nights that you want to remember forever. So make sure you go and absorb it so you can remember it.’"
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Wardlow went on to say that he felt more comfortable during his match with Sky than he'd felt in any other match in which he'd participated, with the possible exception of his match with CM Punk.
Going into the match, Wardlow was 14-2 in 2022, while Sky was 9-1. As you might recall, Wardlow's big push kicked off when he turned on MJF at the appropriately-named Revolution pay-per-view by refusing to help MJF cheat in order to defeat CM Punk. Wardlow placed MJF's Dynamite Diamond Ring on the canvas, and Punk used it to finish his foe off. Subsequently, MJF and Wardlow were engaged in a bitter feud that culminated at Double Or Nothing when Wardlow squashed MJF.
(h/t Wrestling Inc)
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