Backstage Update On Jay White’s AEW Status & Future, Booker T

— Jay White has been absent from AEW television since March, following his last match on the March 29th episode of AEW Collision.

According to a report from Fightful Select, White initially sustained a hand injury that has since healed. However, he is now recovering from a shoulder injury that required surgery.

The setback has extended his recovery timetable, and it is currently expected that the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion will be out of action for the remainder of the year.

— On a recent episode of his “What Happened When” podcast, AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone looked back on the time Bobby Heenan showed up intoxicated for a WCW commentary segment.

You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

On Loser Leaves Town or Loser Must Retire matches: “You know, no one ever believed that ‘Loser Must Leave Town’ or retire-type match from all the way back, right? I mean, back in the territory days, Loser Must Leave Town. Well, that means he was going to a new territory. And they would have worked here for a little bit, and sometimes years later he would come back. So, then Loser Must Quit, Loser Must Retire — you know, no one ever bought that s**t. So be that as it may, it’s one of those things in wrestling about loser must retire.”

On Bobby Heenan’s drunk commentary for WCW in 1996 at Hog Wild: “This was not the one with Ric Flair and Eddie Guerrero, you didn’t mention that match. Okay, that match was — and you can go back and listen to it, if you think I’m a liar, good for you. But you can go back and listen to it. That was the one where Bobby had had too much to drink… He had this water bottle, which we thought was a water bottle but it was straight vodka. And by that — and of course, it was warm there. It was summertime, sun was baking us and everything early.

“And I never will forget that — this is when Dusty would ask Heenan a question on the telecast. And I knew Heenan was like, tipsy to the point to where he got kind of drunk. Or he got drunk. And Dusty would ask Heenan a question, and I would like elbow Dusty, like, ‘Don’t ask him a f**king question. He’s drunk.’ And he would keep doing it. And then there was one point where he said, Eddie Guerrero’s name, and he sounded like — if you remember, Foster Brooks from back in the Johnny Carson days, he sounded like that. And that always — when I go back and hear that, that always makes me laugh. Because you know, sure he had too much to drink, but what the f**k, right? He’s Bobby Heenan. Let him do what he wants to do.”

— On a recent episode of his “Morning with Meanie” podcast, The Blue Meanie shared the story behind his appearance at ROH Death Before Dishonor 2025.

The ECW original accompanied Athena during her entrance at the 2300 Arena this past Friday.

You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

On appearing at ROH Death Before Dishonor: “RJ City had reached out to me because he was thinking about doing something with me. Then, during the course of talking, I get a random text from a number I don’t have saved, so I’m just like, ‘Oh, here it comes.’ Every now and then, I’ll get a text message. I’ll get crank text messages as people find my number, and then just text me to say mean s*it. So, I’m just like, ‘ Here we go. ‘ But it was like, ‘Hey, this is Athena. I got your number from so and so.’ Also, she sent a photo of herself. I’m like,’ Oh, great. It’s really her.’ So she’s like, ‘We have an idea for you to be a part of my deal tomorrow. Would you be interested?’ I was like, Absolutely.’ Then, Sonjay Dutt, who works behind the scenes with AEW/Ring of Honor. He texted me… It’s like a three-card monte. I’m talking to Sonjay, I’m talking to Athena. Talking to RJ over here, and they’re like, ‘Are you available for us?’ Absolutely. So I had no idea what I was going to do. I was like, and I always say this, ‘I’m a 10-minute walk. I can walk out my door and walk there in 10 minutes, 15 minutes if I walk backwards.’”

On being nervous appearing in front of the 2300 crowd: “I always get nervous, even though I’ve been in that building a million times, and often joke that, ‘Yeah, those fans are just my neighbors, you know. They’re just happy to see me,’ but it is really cool to actually go out and be remembered and get sort of reaction in that building. Because, you know, Philadelphia fans, for the most part, they can be harsh. If you’re good, they’ll love you. If they hate you, they’ll let you know, you know, and I’ve seen plenty of people get booed out of that building, but here we are. I debuted there in 1995, 30 years ago. It’ll be 30 years in November since the Blue Meanie character was born. So we’re approaching on that. So to be asked to be a part of something very special in the city, in that building with a great company, meant a lot.”

— On a recent episode of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker T shared why he’s never connected with AEW as a fan and also weighed in on Blake Monroe’s win at WWE NXT: Heatwave.

You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

On Blake Monroe winning over Booker T: “That match right there, Blake showed me that she definitely belongs, bro. I mean, she’s top-tier talent. You know, I had never really watched her work before. I’m serious, I never — I mean, when she was out and about. I had never really watched her work. But that night at Heatwave on Sunday night, she went out and showed me that she is a top-tier talent, man. I don’t know what she trained at, but she definitely has a knack and an eye for this business. And I’m a Blake Monroe fan going forward, I call her the Mega Blonde Bombshell, you feel me? And I mean, she’s not just your average — she got a little something extra.

On the gummy bear spot in the Lights Out Steel Cage Match at Forbidden Door: “Look here, I’ve said it before. AEW is trying to change the way people look at professional wrestling. I really don’t look at AEW, as — you know, that’s why, you asked me if I watched it. No, I didn’t watch it. Because right there is perhaps one of the reasons I would not watch an AEW show. I can honestly sit here and tell you right now that I’ve never watched a AEW show. All right? I’ve watched bits and pieces, and lot of that has been on the internet. I’ve never sat and watched the show because of stuff like that.

“And like I said, me personally I don’t want to change the way people look at professional wrestling. Because it is a beautiful, beautiful sport, a beautiful art, when you look at it properly. I got a chance to go and see Hamilton on Broadway this weekend. And man, what a show. What a show. Those guys went out there and they worked their butts off to bring that thing to life. It really made me feel a certain way. At certain points, I almost had a tear come out of my eye a couple of times. Twice, a tear almost came out. I had to hold it back. That’s how I felt about that play when I walked away from it. I will never feel that way walking away from AEW show, never in a million years.”

(h/t – Fightful)