Dixie Carter – Plans To Talk With Talent Recently Released From WWE

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Dixie Carter will talk with some of WWE’s newly released talent as soon as her company is allowed — at least that’s what the President of TNA Wrestling predicted in a new interview.

Speaking with The Fan Garage … Carter said, “There are definitely some talented wrestlers on the market right now … and I do see ourselves talking with them. I think it would be exciting to bring a few of them into TNA.”

One of the wrestlers Dixie could be referring to is Cody Rhodes. He was released Sunday and issued a lengthy statement afterward in which he griped about his lack of an important role in WWE — plus, his wife Eden Stiles is now available as well.

Dixie could also be talking about Adam Rose. He was granted his requested release after what WWE said was a wellness policy violation in April. However, we’re assuming TNA would wait for his domestic dispute situation to play out in court first.

Other recently released WWE wrestlers include Alex Riley, Damien Sandow, Santino Marella,Cameron, El Torito and Hornswoggle. Wade Barrett was also let out of his contract early.

Carter certainly has a bevy of former WWE talent to consider.

SmackDown Preview: 5/26/16 – 2 Title Matches

Source: WWE.com

Intercontinental Championship: (C) The Miz w/Maryse vs. Cesaro

United States Championship: (C) Rusev w/Lana vs. Kalisto

MITB Ladder Qualifying Match: Zack Ryder vs. Alberto Del Rio

Seth Rollins returns to SmackDown

Michael Cole interviews Dean Ambrose

Former ROH Owner Says He’s Confronting Ric Flair At Upcoming Autograph Signing Over Money Owed

Source: WrestlingINC

Former Ring of Honor owner Cary Silkin says he’s going to show up at a local Ric Flair signing in Bethlehem, PA at the Sands Casino on July 23rd to collect the $41,000 he’s owed by The Nature Boy. Flair will be appearing with Ricky Steamboat and participating in a Q&A that day.

Back when Silkin still owned ROH, he sued Flair in January 2010 over $40,000 Flair owed the company after failing to meet requirements for his “ROH Ambassador” role he had been paid for. The lawsuit was dropped in May 2011 when ROH was sold to Sinclair Broadcasting.

Silkin tweeted the following:

Hideo Itami Returning Soon To NXT?

Source:  Wrestling Observer Newsletter

It appears that Hideo Itami is scheduled to finally return to WWE NXT in the next few weeks. He had shoulder surgery 13 months ago but his recovery has gone much slower than expected as his first surgery did not go so well.

Backstage WWE Brand Split Updates

Source: WrestlingINC

Regarding the WWE brand split and SmackDown going live beginning Tuesday, July 19th, Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the belief is that one show will feature Shane McMahon in charge and one show will have Stephanie McMahon in charge, perhaps RAW. It’s also believed that while Vince McMahon and Triple H will continue running creative, current RAW and SmackDown head writers Ed Koskey and Ryan Ward will end up with more power since the creative writing teams will have more control and won’t have to constantly work together on ideas.

We noted yesterday that it was already being rumored that the WWE Women’s Title would be exclusive to one show. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the tentative plan is for the women’s division to be on both brands but the exclusive talk is there. The Women’s Champion would be the only person to appear on both brands, with the exception of whoever the singles champion is. It was also noted that they are still looking at doing two world titles again but that is not a lock and they could end up with just one top champion. The WWE Tag Team Titles are also still up in the air but everyone is still saying that the United States Title will be on one show while the Intercontinental Title will be on the other. There’s been talk of having two sets of tag champions or one set that would work both shows.

The WWE Draft is still rumored for July 11th in Detroit but not a lock. There are people in WWE campaigning for a hard split of the rosters while others want a soft spit with top stars making guest appearances on the other shows, allowing for more unique top matches on TV or pay-per-view events.

The Observer also reported internal belief is that John Cena will be the main star on SmackDown while Roman Reigns will be the top star for RAW. There’s still no word on what will happen with several top stars, including Brock Lesnar. It’s believed Lesnar will end up on RAW when he returns for SummerSlam hype but word is that even his brand is not a lock at this point.

As noted, everything is still up in the air and one guarantee is that many plans will change over the next month or so. WWE is officially saying that all the big questions will be answered in the next few weeks.

Backstage News On AJ Styles Plans

Source: F4WOnline via WrestlingINC

It was noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that despite losing to WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules, WWE does have big plans for AJ Styles. No word yet on what they have planned now that Reigns has apparently moved on to Seth Rollins.

 

NXT Preview: 5/25/16

Scheduled for tonight’s NXT on WWE Network:

Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella to determine top contender to WWE NXT Women’s championship

Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa vs. the debuting TM-61

No Way Jose in action

Also appearing are Austin Aries, William Regal and Shinsuke Nakamura

Lucha Underground Preview: 5/25/16

Tonight on Lucha Underground on El Rey Network:

“The Gift of the Gods Championship is defended while Joey Ryan and Cortez Castro’s cover gets blown! The Trios Championship is not over yet when Prince Puma, El Dragon Azteca Jr. and Rey Mysterio head into the ring for another match to defend their titles. Can they succeed?”

ROH On Comet TV Preview: 5/25/16

Tonight on ROH on comet TV:

A special look at the Bullet Club.

You can watch tonight’s ROH on COMET episode live stream at http://comettv.com/live.html.

WWE Confirms Eden’s Departure

Eden (Brandi Rhodes) revealed on Twitter that she has been offered work elsewhere and has agreed to part ways with WWE after tonight’s TV tapings in Norfolk, VA. This comes after husband Cody Rhodes was granted his release this week.

WWE confirmed the departure with this announcement:

Eden releasedWWE has granted Eden (wife of Cody Rhodes) her request to be released, as of today, May 24, 2016. WWE wishes Eden the best in all her future endeavors.