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Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly feature, where we look at some interesting WWE news stories over the week that you might have missed.
A top champion has been forced to relinquish his title due to an injury. Alexa Bliss has revealed the six-word message she got from Bray Wyatt before the latter's unexpected WWE departure. Also, two top stars have seemingly confirmed their exit from the company.
So without further ado, let's dive into five news stories you might have missed this week. Be sure to comment down and let us know your thoughts and reactions on the same.
#5 Bray Wyatt's six-word message to Alexa Bliss before his WWE release
Two-time Universal Champion Bray Wyatt was shockingly released from WWE in July 2021. He was heavily involved in storylines with Alexa Bliss before his departure. In a recent interview with Metro.co.uk, Bliss revealed Wyatt's message to her before his release and also added that she would love to work with him again if he ever returns.
"Before he left, he just said, “Keep it alive, keep it going”, so I took that to heart and tried to keep it alive and going. If he ever did return, a hundred percent I’d want to work with him," she said.
Alexa Bliss started teaming up with Bray Wyatt/The Fiend in 2020 and debuted a dark supernatural gimmick. She continued with her dark gimmick after Wyatt's release for some time before going on a hiatus. Following her return earlier this year, she is slowly dropping that gimmick but there are still some hints left, like the creepy-looking doll Lilly.
#4 WWE veteran has an unexpected pick to dethrone Roman Reigns
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns has crushed several stars during his record-breaking run as the champion, which is still going on strong. Fans are still wondering who could be the one to finally dethrone him.
Former WWE writer Vince Russo has a rather unexpected pick to do the same. Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's "Writing with Russo" he suggested that Logan Paul should be the one to dethrone The Tribal Chief.
“Bro, put the title on him!” Russo said. “Let Logan Paul beat Reigns. He’s better than anyone else they got there, bro. Absolutely, absolutely… put the belt on him. Seriously, Logan Paul! Why not? Why not, bro?”
Logan Paul made his WWE in-ring debut earlier this year at WrestleMania 38 and impressed fans and critics with his performance. Recently, he officially signed a contract with the company and is expected to wrestle multiple times in a year.
#3 Former women's champion talks about match against Randy Orton
14-time world champion Randy Orton is one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. Not many can claim to have a victory over him. But former RAW and SmackDown Women's Champion Alexa Bliss has that major feather in her cap.
During her recent appearance on the Out of Character podcast with Ryan Satin, Alexa Bliss spoke about how much fun she had with the entire Firefly Funhouse stuff. She also spoke about having a match against Randy Orton and even beating him.
"The Firefly Funhouse stuff, it was so fun, it was so great. It's definately a moment in my career that I cherish the most because that was the most fun I've ever had. And I got to have a match against Randy Orton and beat him," Bliss said.
Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton faced each other last year at WWE Fastlane 2021 in an intergender match. The match was filled with Bliss' supernatural elements. In the end, The Fiend (Bray Wyatt) returned after being away from television for a couple of months, and helped Bliss pick up the victory over The Viper.
#2 Top champion relinquishes title due to injury
At the most recent NXT UK tapings, Ilja Dragunov relinquished his NXT UK Championship. A report from Inside The Ropes noted that he appeared in a protective boot and addressed the crowd before relinquishing the title. As of now, there are no details available on his exact injury and how long he will be out of action.
Following this, a tournament was held to crown the new champion. Tyler Bate won the tournament to become the new NXT UK Champion and also became the first star to win this title twice. Tyler Bate was also the inaugural NXT UK Champion in 2017. As for Ilja Dragunov, he defeated WALTER (now known as Gunther on SmackDown) to become the NXT UK Champion last year.
#1 Sasha Banks and Naomi seemingly confirm WWE departure
The situation of Sasha Banks and Naomi with WWE has been rather tricky over the last couple of months since the two stars walked out of an episode of RAW after a creative dispute. There have been conflicting reports of Banks being released by the company and still being with them.
PWInsider recently reported that the two were removed from the company's internal roster over the last 24 hours. Now, Sasha Banks and Naomi have seemingly confirmed their exit from the company with an interesting social media update. The two stars have updated their Instagram bios, replacing the term "WWE Superstar" with "professional wrestler". No official comment has been made yet by either them or the company.
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