WWE News Roundup: Current champion stripped of his title; 44-year-old star confirms he has departed RAW; Cody Rhodes mentions Brock Lesnar

Happy New Year and welcome to Sportskeeda Wrestling's WWE News Roundup; the first of 2025. We have some big stories from the past day, featuring Cody Rhodes.

The American Nightmare has spoken highly of a WWE legend's son. Meanwhile, a champion has recently been stripped of his title and changes are coming to Monday Night RAW on Netflix. One prominent name won't be a part of the show, though.

So, without further ado, let's get into today's stories.

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#1. Lexis King is NOT the Heritage Cup Champion

Last night's episode of NXT featured a bunch of noteworthy moments, including an update on the Heritage Cup situation. Lexis King had seemingly won the title from Charlie Dempsey via disqualification after William Regal punched him with brass knuckles. However, that actually isn't the case.

NXT general manager Ava stripped King of the Heritage Cup, telling him that it cannot change hands via DQ. The former AEW star will still get a chance to win it back in a sudden-death match against Dempsey next week at New Year's Evil.

Elsewhere on the show, Ethan Page defeated Cedric Alexander and broke his hand after the match. Meanwhile, Eddy Thorpe stood tall over Trick Williams and Oba Femi ahead of their triple threat match for the NXT Championship at New Year's Evil.

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#2. Cody Rhodes makes a bold prediction for Mark Henry's son, Jacob, in WWE

Cody Rhodes recently appeared on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, where spoke about a bunch of things. Among them was Mark Henry's son, Jacob, and his prospects in WWE. The 18-year-old signed a deal with the company last year, having previously been an amateur wrestler in high school and college.

The American Nightmare mentioned Brock Lesnar while predicting how Jacob Henry would do as a WWE Superstar. Rhodes feels he will get a mega-push like The Beast Incarnate got back when he debuted in 2002:

"I love Mark Henry. He's still part of this radio show called Busted Open. His son Jacob, who is going to come up and... probably "Brock Lesnar" us all when he arrives. We're all looking forward to it." [45:21-45:32]

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#3. Wade Barrett bids goodbye to WWE RAW

This week's episode of Monday Night RAW was the final one on the USA Network. And with the Netflix era beginning soon, the red brand is undergoing some changes. One of them is at the commentary desk, as Michael Cole and Pat McAfee will replace Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett.

The five-time Intercontinental Champion took to Twitter/X to bid goodbye to RAW, while sending a message to Cole and McAfee. Barrett will be on the post-show for the Netflix debut, alongside Tessitore and Big E, but his time as an official part of the red brand seems to be over:

"Thank you #WWERaw on @USANetwork, it’s been a pleasure! Can’t wait to see what’s in store next week on the @netflix debut. @MichaelCole & @PatMcAfeeShow, you’re up 👊🏻 @JoeTessESPN & I will see you on the Raw debut post-show 🍻"

It remains to be seen what Wade Barrett will do next in WWE, beyond his desk duties. A brief in-ring return might not be out of the question.