The pair’s absence from last night’s show has been a topic of controversy.
The October 8 edition of AEW Collision was initially set to feature Miranda Alize and Nixon Newell facing Anna Jay and Tay Conti ahead of the tournament to crown the first AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions. However, TayJay instead took on Hyan and Maya World, with conflicting reports surrounding the absence of Alize and Newell.
Following PWInsider’s report that the pair had refused to lose the match, Fightful Select are now reporting that this was not the case, stating that the duo walked out before the show after being informed of time constraints.
“Fightful Select has heard that actually wasn’t the case. Instead, the duo requested more than the three minutes that were planned for the match. However, they were told that by then, the time for the show had been budgeted out and set. We’re told that the two then left the show about an hour before it started.”
-Fightful Select
According to the report, the situation caused an immediate and immense reaction backstage in AEW. One staff member told Fightful that while Newell is talented, her involvement came from a desire to “help her out” after she admitted she had been struggling to get bookings following her WWE departure.
Another source reportedly expressed disappointment over the situation, describing it as out of character for Newell in particular. Despite this, the report adds that several AEW insiders contacted Fightful to claim this was not the first issue involving Newell, noting that her debut with the promotion had also sparked disagreements.
“AEW sources and talent reached out and claimed this wasn’t the first issue with Newell in AEW, as there is conflicting information emerging about how the debut match went as well. Alize and Newell competed against Megan Bayne and Marina Shafir. Word made its way around the locker room that Newell wasn’t happy that the match was being constructed as is. One of the point of contentions was said to be Megan Bayne selling for Newell and Alize, which at that point of establishing a new, dominant team, wasn’t really a decision Megan Bayne could make on her own. AEW talent usually know to clear that with coaches or producers when facing unsigned talent.”
-Fightful Select
One longtime friend of the former Tegan Nox reportedly attributed the situation to disappointment, explaining that Newell had been excited for the match but was upset by how abruptly things ended. Another source claimed that Newell simply wanted to get the match over with as quickly as possible due to frustrations with how it had been arranged.
A number of fans noticed what appeared to be visible frustration on Megan Bayne’s face during the match, and the report confirms that one source indicated this was genuine, stemming from a perceived lack of cooperation.
After reaching out to Nixon Newell for further comment, Fightful received the following response:
“No we had no disagreement, Miranda and I are really the only ones that have the details about how yesterday went.”
-Nixon Newell
Regarding Hyan and Maya World stepping in on short notice, Fightful add that the pair were over the moon to receive the opportunity and have been heavily praised for their involvement.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the situation involving both Miranda Alize and Nixon Newell walking out ahead of AEW Collision as soon as we hear more.
