AEW: Dustin Rhodes on His Belief Tony Khan Will Allow Him to End Career Like Sting, Jamie Hayter on Having More at Stake Than Mercedes Mone for Women’s Owen Hart Cup Finals, 5/17 AEW Collision Beach Break Show Ending Early Update

May 24, 2025

Dustin Rhodes Comments on His Belief Tony Khan Will Allow Him to End Career Like Sting

A recent episode of the AEW Close Up with Renee Paquette show featured The Sons of Texas’ Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara as the guests. One of the topics discussed included Rhodes’ current plans for his in-ring wrestling career retirement and his belief that AEW CEO Tony Khan will allow him to end his career in a similar fashion like Sting.

“I’ve thought in depth, and there’s a list of three guys. I’d rather not say them right now. I want to keep that close to my chest, but I do have a plan. It’s not soon, guys. I know I’ve said I have one more year sometimes in the past, and it always changes. Then the next year I’ll say, ‘Oh, I got a couple more years,’ and the next two years come, and, ‘Oh, maybe next year.’ Seriously, it’s not very close, but it is. I would say a couple of years, two and a half, maybe. I do have a plan of who I want to work, who I want to face, and I think Tony’s going to be okay with that.
I think he’s going to give me the opportunity to go out like Sting did and that is the most respect that I could ever feel. Feel the most love, the most passion from this company, and I feel it every single day. With all the tribalism out there about the other place and us and what’s good, what’s bad, whatever, they have no idea how hard we work and what goes on. I mean, we’re our startup company. This is our sixth year. We are growing every single year, doing amazing, making huge amounts of money, and working all over the world. It is a place I want to be and finish my career.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

Jamie Hayter Comments on Her Having More at Stake Than Mercedes Mone for Women’s Owen Hart Cup Finals Match

Yahoo Sports’ Uncrowned held a recent interview with Jamie Hayter. One of the topics discussed included Hayter’s thoughts about her upcoming match against Mercedes Mone for the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Cup Finals.

“I’m not going to lie. I think I have more at stake than Mercedes does. I haven’t really done anything [since I came back]. This is the first thing I’ve done of note, and I’ve been back since August 2024. Hey, that’s just how it goes. But this is my opportunity to really show people, maybe I look a little bit different or whatever, but I’m still the same person in the ring. I’m still aggressive. I can still go.
That fire gets lit in you and you’re like, ‘No, I think I’m starting to believe in myself more again. I want to show people that I never left, and I can go, and I can be at that level that so many women have gotten to that level. Toni Storm, Willow [Nightingale], and Kris Statlander — all these girls have been smashing it since I’ve been gone as well. They’re really at the top of our division. I want to join them.”

Hayter also gave her thoughts about her belief that she has more at stake than Mone for this match.

“Winning the Owen Hart Cup would be great because it’s a fantastic tournament. It honors Owen Hart. It’s great for honoring his legacy. It also will give Mercedes Moné her first loss in AEW, which, I think that’d be pretty cool. I think that’s a little brownie point for me. Then going to All In, potentially facing Toni Storm, I think that would be interesting because we haven’t stepped in the ring together for quite some time. She beat me the first time for the belt, then I beat her, then she beat me again. I almost feel like I could do it — I really could go all the way.”

Update on Reason for May 17th AEW Collision Beach Break 2025 Show Ending Early

As noted before, the May 17th AEW Collision Beach Break 2025 show featured the show ending 30 minutes early due to serious technical issues with the feed on TNT’s end.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the current belief is that a corrupted video file was the reason for the feed issues and show abruptly ending early on TNT and MAX.