All Elite Wrestling may just be four years old, but the young company has embraced the “canon” of professional wrestling promotions of years past. Chris Jericho has directly referenced events from his days in WCW during feuds with Cody Rhodes and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. The introduction of the FTW World Championship carried on the legacy that Taz started in ECW. CM Punk made allusions to his WWE feuds with Jeff Hardy and The Undertaker in an AEW Dynamite promo. Even AEW Collision‘s logo is an homage to WCW Monday Nitro‘s original look in the 1990s. That WCW spirit will continue this weekend on AEW Collision, as the Saturday show is set to welcome a familiar face from both the sports and sports-entertainment world.
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Dennis Rodman is All Elite
The Worm is returning to wrestling.
As announced on social media, NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman will be appearing on AEW Collision this Saturday, September 2nd. Rodman is most known for his time with the Chicago Bulls, and this AEW Collision appearance will bring him back to his team’s arena.
AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman has already responded to the news, leaving an exclamatory, “WHAT?!” There is currently no word on what Rodman’s segment will be.
Dennis Rodman’s Wrestling History
Rodman is no stranger to the world of professional wrestling. The Chicago Bulls big man first showed face on a wrestling show when he popped up on WCW Monday Nitro in March 1997. Upon his debut, Rodman joined the New World Order, aligning himself with real-life friend Hulk Hogan. Later that summer, Rodman would actually wrestle for WCW when he teamed with Hogan at WCW Bash at the Beach in a losing effort to Lex Luger and The Giant.
One year later, Rodman returned to WCW to feud with basketball rival and fellow NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone. The two squared off in tag action, Rodman teaming with Hogan again while Malone aligned with Diamond Dallas Page.
Rodman’s final WCW run came in 1999 when he feuded with Randy Savage. This led to a bout between the two at WCW Road Wild, Rodman’s first singles match. He would wrestle once more the following year at an independent event in Australia, losing to Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect). Rodman made more various sporadic indie appearances over the years.
AEW Collision goes down this Saturday at 8 PM ET on TNT.
