The Latest On WWE And Naomi’s Reported Contract Negotiations

It has now been nearly five months since fans last saw Sasha Banks and Naomi, after the then WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions walked out prior to an episode of “WWE Raw” following a disagreement with former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Since then, both have been reported to be out of WWE, then likely to return following McMahon’s retirement, followed by uncertainty. And while things still seem uncertain about Banks, there is at least an update on Naomi.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there has been nothing new on Naomi returning due to unresolved deal points in negotiations between the two sides over a new contract. Many will recall that Naomi’s original WWE contract was set to expire prior to her and Banks walking out, and that the two sides had been negotiating a new deal at the time. Meltzer notes that a potential hold up could be that Naomi is still bound by her original contract, which could have been frozen due to her missing time after her and Banks walked out. As such, Meltzer stated she would not be able to negotiate to go somewhere else under hat circumstance, meaning she would have to work out the rest of the time on her old WWE contract in order to complete the deal. Meltzer was sure to reiterate, however, that talks between the two sides were ongoing.

While Banks and Naomi were reportedly added back to WWE’s internal roster in August, there have been no hints towards a return for either onscreen. The pair have continued to keep busy with outside projects, with Banks notably catching headlines in late September when she changed her Twitter handle from @SashaBanksWWE to @MercedesVernado, her real name.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Edge Joins The Cast Of Disney+ Series

WWE Hall of Famer Edge has been signed to co-star in the Disney+ series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”

According to a report in Variety, Edge — who will be appearing under his real name, Adam Copeland — has been cast as Ares, the God of War, a recurring guest star spot. Disney+ described the character as “handsome in a wicked way and arrogant, despite not always being the sharpest tool in the shed. He loves conflict and acts as an agent of chaos wherever he goes.”

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the popular young adult novels by Rick Riordan and follows the adventures of a 12-year-old modern demigod who is erroneously accused by the sky god Zeus of stealing his master lightning bolt. The youth and two of his friends embark on an odyssey to locate the lightning bolt and restore it to Zeus’ authority.

In addition to Edge, the series’ guest star line-up includes Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, and Megan Mullally. Production is currently underway in Vancouver for the eight-episode first season, which is scheduled to premiere in 2024.

Outside of wrestling, Edge has enjoyed a lengthy and varied entertainment career, beginning with a small role as a bandit in the 2000 film “Highlander: Endgame.” He had starring roles in the films “Bending the Rules” (2012), “Interrogation” (2016), and “Money Plane” (2020), and he has been active in his native Canada with roles on the television series “Haven” and “Vikings,” as well as appearances as himself in the bibliophile-focused “Canada Reads.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Update On Charlotte Flair’s WWE Return

Fans can expect to see Charlotte Flair back on WWE television soon, based on a new report. 

Flair hasn’t wrestled since she lost the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship to Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania: Backlash in May. She then took time off for her wedding with AEW’s Andrade El Idolo.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that “Charlotte Flair is scheduled to return soon.”

It’s unclear what WWE has planned for her, but she will be part of the SmackDown brand.

Source: EWrestlingNews

WWE NXT Preview 10/11/2022

WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network: 

The Good Brothers Return To WWE On Monday Night RAW, Karl Anderson NJPW Update

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, known together as the Good Brothers, made their return to the WWE last night.

A lot of familiar faces have been finding their way back to the WWE within the last few months. Some of these names include Johnny Gargano, Sarah Logan, Dexter Lumis, Candice LeRae, and, most recently, Bray Wyatt.

Last night, two more former WWE superstars returned to the company: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, known together as the Good Brothers. Rumors flew about earlier in the day saying that the pair would be re-signing with WWE, but those rumors came to fruition much faster than anyone expected.

Finn Balor’s Judgment Day stable stood in the ring to cut a promo. Balor called out AJ Styles and told him to come to the ring; for the past few weeks, Balor had been recruiting Styles to Judgment Day with no success. Styles came to the ring and pretended to accept Finn’s offer. In reality, though, he was reintroducing his good friends and teammates, Gallows and Anderson.

They were among the crowd released due to “budget cuts” in 2020.

During their time away from WWE, Gallows and Anderson competed in AEW, IMPACT, and New Japan Pro Wrestling. They won the IMPACT Tag Team Championships. In NJPW, Karl Anderson won the NEVER Openweight Championship and is technically still billed as champion. He was supposed to defend at Battle Autumn on November 5.

NJPW updated the Battle Autumn card following The Good Brothers’ WWE re-debut, but not because Anderson needed to be removed from it. The Never Openweight title defense against Hikuleo remains, and according to Wrestling Observer, it will go ahead as planned. The show takes place in Osaka, Japan on the same day as WWE’s Crown Jewel, so don’t expect to see The Good Brothers on the first Saudi show without Vince McMahon in charge.

This clearly wasn’t a case of Gallows and Anderson showing up in WWE without permission, nor the pair finding a loophole or keeping a title in their possession after their contracts lapsed. NJPW has retweeted WWE’s clip showing the pair as they rushed to the ring to flank Styles. A deal must have been struck, but the finer details of that deal currently remain unclear.

Gallows and Anderson returning and confirming WWE has some sort of working relationship comes just days after Tony Khan revealed details about a conversation he had with CEO Nick Khan. The AEW owner spoke with Nick in 2021 following reports WWE had spoken to NJPW about working together. Tony called Nick a con man live on Dynamite after being assured by NJPW that no such deal was in place.

Source: TheSportster

Bo Dallas Returning To WWE (Report)

Newly returned Bray Wyatt soon won’t be the only Rotunda family member in WWE.

In a new report from Bryan Alvarez of F4Wonline, Wyatt’s younger brother, Bo Dallas is expected to return to WWE “very soon.”

WWE released Dallas on April 15, 2021, after being with the promotion since 2008. Samoa Joe, Mickie James, Chelsea Green, Tucker, Kalisto, Cassie Lee (FKA Peyton Royce), and Jessie McKay (FKA Billie Kay) were also released on April 15. 

During his career, he was the tag team partner to Curtis Axel and they were known as “The B-Team.” He and Axel held the “Raw” Tag Team Titles. Dallas is also a former “NXT” Champion and a WWE 24/7 Champion. Before his release, his last WWE match was at the 2019 WWE Crown Jewel event on October 31. The match was a World Cup Tag Team Turmoil match and Dallas teamed with Axel.

Dallas is currently in a relationship with former “SmackDown” Women’s Champion Liv Morgan. Dallas and Morgan currently run a farm together and Dallas was also working in the real estate business.

As noted, Wyatt made his WWE return on Saturday night at Extreme Rules after the main event match between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle. For weeks, WWE teased his return with QR codes and Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.”

Dallas and Wyatt’s father is “IRS” Mike Rotunda and their grandfather is WWE Hall of Famer Blackjack Mulligan.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 10/10/2022 – Season Premiere, DX

Tonight’s season premiere of WWE RAW live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

The fallout from WWE Extreme Rules will also be felt. The event saw Bray Wyatt make his shocking return to the company, revealing himself to be the man behind the “White Rabbit” clues seen on WWE programming in recent weeks. 

WWE Extreme Rules 10/8/2022 (Results), Bray Wyatt Returns

  • Six-Man Tag Team Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook Match: The Brawling Brutes defeated Imperium by pinfall.
  • SmackDown Women’s Championship Extreme Rules Match: Ronda Rousey defeated Liv Morgan (c) by submission to win the title.
  • Strap Match: Karrion Kross defeated Drew McIntyre by pinfall.
  • Raw Women’s Championship Ladder Match: Bianca Belair (c) defeated Bayley
  • I Quit Match: Finn Balor defeated Edge
  • Fight Pit Match: Matt Riddle defeated Seth Rollins by submission.

The lights went out and Michael Cole was asking if they’re still on the air. All the fireflies light up their phones as “He’s got the whole world in his hands” starts playing. A few people in the crowd are given a spotlight, dressed up as Huskus the Pig Boy, Mercy the Buzzard, Rambling Rabbit, and Abbey the Witch are shown. The Fiend is shown, too. All the Firefly Fun House puppets are shown covered in cobwebs and such. A masked person pops up on the screen and mumbles something. Finally, Bray Wyatt appeared in a new mask with a lantern in his hands. Before the show ended, Wyatt took the mask off, blew out the lantern, and said, “I’m here.” A new logo pops up on the screen resembling the Silence of the Lambs iconography.

Following the pay-per-view event, Wyatt continued his return, and hyped up the live audience in Philadelphia, PA.

After walking up to fans on both sides of the entrance stage, the former Universal Champion made his way backstage.

New White Rabbit QR Code – ‘Let Me In’ Message Featured, Plus A Teaser Video Airs On WWE SmackDown

Another QR code aired on this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown, with this one strongly hinting at the return of “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt.

During the opening segment of the show, Triple H cut a brief promo to welcome everyone to the season premiere of SmackDown. There was a QR code on his microphone, which leads to a video that you can view below.

In the video, the same pig cartoon from previous videos is featured, this time with “Let Me In” playing repeatedly. Of course, “Let Me In” is the catchphrase Bray Wyatt often used during his time in WWE as “The Fiend.”

The Wyatt teases didn’t end with just a QR code on this week’s show held in Worcester, Massachusetts. For the first time ever, a white rabbit teaser video actually played on television, as a white rabbit was shown running through a forest until a giant portal in the ground opened up, causing him to fall into the rabbit hole. This was followed by a few riddles and the text “Tomorrow Night” and “10.8.22” flashing through the screen, confirming earlier reports that the big white rabbit unveil will take place this Saturday at the Extreme Rules event in Philadelphia. The video ended with the text “Feed Your Head.”

That’s not all. According to fans at the DCU Center, a person in a white rabbit costume was seen randomly walking around the arena during Friday’s show. Plus the person in the white rabbit costume was seen sitting behind the announce table.

If Wyatt does indeed show up Saturday, it remains to be seen he returns as “The Fiend” or introduces the wrestling world to a brand new character.

Sources: EWrestlingNews and Wrestling Inc.

WWE Extreme Rules 10/8/2022 (Card)

WWE Extreme Rules, Saturday Oct. 8 from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 8 ET/ 5 PT, steaming live on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else.

  • Extreme Rules match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
  • Fight Pit match: Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins (Daniel Cormier will serve as the special guest referee)
  • Strap match: Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross (with Scarlett)
  • Ladder match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley
  • “I Quit” match: Edge vs. Finn Bálor
  • Six-man tag team Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match: The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch) vs. Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, and Giovanni Vinci)

White Rabbit reveal – expected to be Bray Wyatt