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Welcome to another edition of the daily rumor roundup.
The wrestling gods have blessed us with a very newsworthy week. It shouldn't come as a surprise that there's a lot of speculation surrounding CM Punk. The former WWE Superstar isn't hogging all the limelight though, as there are many other interesting rumors that have been covered today.
WWE is reportedly willing to release a few Superstars who may not be wanted by AEW. A veteran Superstar took to Twitter and declared that he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the ring.
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Another Superstar used social media to announce that he is quitting the company. We also have details regarding the surprising backstage reaction to the current Survivor Series card.
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
Interested in seeing a Dog Collar match? Well, WWE is considering booking the gimmick bout for a future show.
Vince McMahon also makes it to the roundup as usual and this time, it's because the WWE boss praised a major star backstage.
Sounds like a good lineup? Let's get right to business then...
#1. WWE willing to release a few Superstars including Sin Cara
Apart from CM Punk's return, the biggest story of the week was Sin Cara requesting WWE for his release. The former NXT Tag Team Champion is not the first Superstar to have asked for his release publicly and he isn't even the first talent to have reportedly been denied his release. However, there could be a change in WWE's stance in dealing with the Superstars who want to get out of their contracts.
Dave Meltzer revealed in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the WWE could allow some unhappy Superstars to leave the company with the belief that they wouldn't benefit AEW if they intend to join the upstart promotion.
Meltzer wrote in the WON:
It was noted that they may be giving releases to some people with the idea they don’t believe they would be going to AEW, or if they do, wouldn’t help them, and it is possible he (Sin Cara) will get his release
Reports suggest that Sin Cara, who is a 10-year WWE veteran and joined the company in 2009, intends to pursue a career in MMA and wants to join Combate Americas. As the Hispanic Superstar doesn't wish to push for a move to AEW, WWE could grant him his release.
Who else will the WWE be willing to let go? That is something we'll have to wait and watch.
#2. Vince McMahon is impressed with Tyson Fury
Heavyweight Boxing sensation Tyson Fury's short yet lucrative program in the WWE was considered to be a big success. The Gypsy King defeated Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel and reportedly made a good sum of money for the special attraction match.
Fury was recently interviewed by talkSPORT and he revealed that Vince McMahon was quite impressed with how quickly he took to pro wrestling.
The Heavyweight Champion revealed what Vince told him backstage.
"Vince McMahon said he has recruited sports stars from all different sports and he has never seen anyone come into their game, have a couple of training sessions, and pick it up like that. I looked like a natural in there!." H/t Credit: talkSPORT
Fury also hinted at possibly returning for WrestleMania 36 and added that he would love to have a match against Brock Lesnar.
#3. WWE officials feel that the Survivor Series card is overloaded
The 33rd Survivor Series PPV is being built up as a platform to determine the best brand in the company and the show already has six confirmed matches.
- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE Championship)
- Becky Lynch (Raw Women's Champion) vs. Bayley (SmackDown Women's Champion) vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT Women's Champion) (Champion vs. Champion vs. Champion Triple threat match)
- The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) (Raw Tag Team Champions) vs. The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (SmackDown Tag Team Champions) vs. The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) (NXT Tag Team Champions) (Champions vs. Champions vs. Champions Triple threat tag team match)
- Team Raw (TBA, TBA, TBA, TBA, and TBA) vs. Team SmackDown (Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans and TBA) vs. Team NXT (TBA, TBA, TBA, TBA, and TBA) (5-on-5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match)
- Team Raw (Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, and Ricochet) vs. Team SmackDown (Roman Reigns, Mustafa Ali, Braun Strowman, King Corbin, and Shorty G) vs. Team NXT (TBA, TBA, TBA, TBA, and TBA) (5-on-5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match)
- AJ Styles (United States Champion) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Roderick Strong (NXT North American Champion) (Champion vs. Champion vs. Champion Triple threat match)
Dave Meltzer stated in the WON that the company is under the impression that the card is overloaded and that is because the two Elimination matches will have three teams, which could end up having nearly ten to fourteen falls per match.
It was also revealed that while WWE has heavily pushed Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley, the match is not expected to be added to the Survivor Series card and it may instead happen at TLC.
#4. Gimmick match for Roman Reigns at TLC
Survivor Series isn't even in the books yet and WWE is already shaping the TLC card.
One of the marquee matches that is being rumored for the TLC PPV is between Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin and WWE officials want it to be a gimmick match.
As weird as it sounds, a Dog Collar match has been discussed backstage in addition to having a typical TLC encounter, as per Dave Meltzer.
WWE has also lined up two other matches for Tables, Ladders and Chairs that is scheduled to take place on December 15th.
Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley and The Kabuki Warriors vs. Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women's Tag Team titles are the other two matches that could feature on the TLC card.
The Women's tag team titles match is expected to have a traditional TLC stipulation.
"Besides Rusev vs. Lashley’s first major match, which right now is planned for a non-stip match, there will be a TLC match with Asuka & Kairi Sane defending the women’s tag titles against Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair and a Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin match. It will be a gimmick match but the gimmick has not been decided upon. It could be tables ladders or chairs, but dog collar match has also been up for consideration."
#5. Brian Kendrick is taking an indefinite leave of absence
The Brian Kendrick took to Twitter to declare that he is going on an indefinite leave of absence from in-ring action.
The veteran Superstar referenced his Cruiserweight title win from three years ago and expressed his frustration over the lack of respect from the 205 Live roster.
Here's the tweet:
The former Cruiserweight Champion last wrestled on the 205 Live tapings on November 6th and lost to Mansoor. He returned to the WWE in 2014, and barring his Cruiserweight title reign, Kendrick hasn't tasted much success in the company during his second stint.
Is Kendrick injured? Is he done with WWE? Is this a red herring? We await more details.
#6. The reason why WWE nixed the Maria Kanellis pregnancy angle
Mike Kanellis is another name who recently asked for his release, however, unlike other Superstars, Mike finds himself in a tricky situation. He signed a 5-year deal not too long ago and WWE, instead of granting him his release, took him off television. His absence meant that the storyline featuring Maria Kanellis and the entire pregnancy angle was nixed.
The aforementioned angle, as we now know, is being portrayed in a different way with Lana, Rusev and Bobby Lashley being the pivotal characters.
Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the pregnancy story could not have been done without Mike Kanellis and with him out of the picture, WWE had no option but to nix the entire angle.
Mike Kanellis was removed from television but not given his release. In his case it could be worse since he had just signed a five-year deal and it’s a good money deal. But they dropped his storyline and instead moved a different version but moved it to a higher profile with Rusev and Lana. Maria, who didn’t ask for her release, has also been off television, but the storyline they were doing doesn’t work without Mike.
Mike, however, isn't wasting his time on the sidelines as he has embarked on a new venture outside the realms of wrestling.
#7. The Jordan Myles saga
If you have been keeping tabs on the Jordan Myles story, then you would know that the former Ring of Honor talent has no future with WWE. And he doesn't even want one.
The man, formerly known as ACH, recently took to Twitter and put out an expletive-laden video in which he announced that he was quitting WWE over alleged racism.
Dave Meltzer made an interesting revelation in the latest WON. It seems that WWE reached out to help Myles a few weeks before he went on a public attack against the company.
It was also revealed that Myles was in touch with at least one promotion outside WWE, however, that doesn't matter at this point as the company has still not officially granted him his release.
WWE has very much tried to help him weeks before he went public with his issues and at the time he disappeared from Orlando. Hardie Jr. then deleted the account that he posted on. WWE has not commented on this story. Hardie Jr. has been in contract with at least one promotion wanting to appear but I can’t see this being possible given there is no indication he’s been released by WWE.
#8. The original plan for CM Punk, backstage reaction to Punk's WWE return
The WWE Universe is rejoicing CM Punk's return to WWE programming. While Punk may not be back as an in-ring talent, he is involved with the company he left on bad terms years ago and that's a great sign.
Punk made his debut on WWE Backstage as a special contributor and analyst and will appear on the show on select dates.
Dave Meltzer reported that the original pitch from FOX was to get Punk on board as the co-host of the show. However, the plan was changed and they instead signed him up for a different role.
"At the time we had learned and reported that his agent had attempted to get him on the newly planned FS 1 show as an analyst. FOX at one point pushed for him to co-host the show."
Meltzer also added that the people who were aware of Punk's comeback were initially quite negative about the whole situation. However, they always knew that the former WWE Champion would be offered a deal by FOX.
Those in WWE who were aware of it, noted negativity about it at first, because of the past bad blood. But later, when he got a tryout, we were told that the expectation was that an offer would be made to him. He had claimed to have not gotten an offer when asked. That could have been true, or it could have been to build for the surprise moment.
Fightful Select also reports that people backstage believe that WWE would be making a big mistake if they don't use CM Punk at Survivor Series. Another high-ranking WWE official didn't even wish to comment about Punk, stating that he 'doesn't have time for that guy'.
A veteran WWE name revealed to Fightful Select that Punk has burnt a lot of bridges behind the scenes.
As you may have imagined, there is a lot of speculation going around about Punk possibly lacing up his wrestling boots again, however, we have heard nothing that positively hints towards the same.
For now, Punk is solely focussed on 'changing the culture' by being a part of the WWE Backstage panel.
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