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It has been a summer of change in WWE, as the company has been shaken up in more ways than anyone would have believed to be possible. Vince McMahon finally (ahem) retired from the company and that means it is time to start filling in the power vacuum left behind. Triple H has filled in a big portion of that gap and has made some changes of his own in WWE. While there are a lot of them run together, we are going to be looking at what seems to be the biggest one, and how it ties into the future.
Triple H did a lot of things during his initial time in power in WWE and the biggest contribution he made was the rise of NXT. What used to be little more than bonus content on WWE.com/the early days of the WWE Network because a viable third brand, to the point where NXT ran away with the Battle For Brand Supremacy at Survivor Series 2019. The show wound up getting two hours on the USA Network every week and things were starting to go great.
Then came AEW and, long story short, Triple H’s NXT d..

It’s one less place. WWE has a lot of content available in any given week and that has always been a strong suit. One of the company’s biggest strengths is that they are able to present their product in a variety of places, meaning it is really hard to avoid. That has helped them quite a bit, but now it seems that they are going to be losing one of their bigger platforms.
Last week, reports surfaced that WWE’s content on Hulu was listed as expiring before the end of the month. According to PWInsider.com, the content is scheduled to be pulled on Saturday September 24 or Sunday September 25, marking the end of WWE’s content on Hulu. The deal between the two sides expires before the end of the year and while a new deal could be worked out, the two sides splitting would mark the end of a deal that has been in place since 2012.
Opinion: This is one of those things that feels more like consolidating than anything else, as WWE will likely move their Hulu content over to Peacock. That makes ..

He has spoken. Malakai Black took to social media recently and issued a statement regarding his status with AEW, mental health issues, and more. This comes after reports surfaced that he requested and was granted his release from the company.
The statement reads as follows:
All.
Firstly thank you all for your messages, know they are being read and appreciated. With all the turmoil going on in the landscape of Professional Wrestling I took the time to think of my words but also needed to wait until conversations between mine and AEW’s camp had come to a conclusion.
Firstly, I dislike reading parts of my private conversations between myself and AEW in regards to my mental well being on the internet. These conversations were private and not meant to be shared with the public. As by now most people realize I am a very private person and do not feel the need to have stuff like this out on the internet. If you’ve been following me longer than a cup of coffee you’re aware I’ve spoken abou..

They are in for a treat. Roman Reigns has dominated the last two years in WWE and there is nothing to suggest that anything will be changing in the near future. Reigns has run through almost everyone there is to face and that leaves him lacking in serious competition. There are still some big names left out there though and WWE may be moving him in the direction of one of them.
The Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is advertising an Undisputed WWE Universal Title match between Reigns and AJ Styles at the September 24 Saturday Night’s Main Event live event. The match marks the first time Reigns and Styles have faced off in a singles match since their feud over the WWE Title in 2016. There is nothing to suggest that a televised match or feud between the two is coming anytime soon.
Opinion: I would certainly be down for a match between these two, as Styles is an all time great and one of the most successful stars in WWE today. He would make a credible threat to Rei..

That would be a big loss. There are a lot of wrestlers who comprise the AEW roster. The company has so many wrestlers in a mixture of newcomers, established names and veterans, who have come together to make for quite the impressive collection. However, sometimes a wrestler is going to head off and that seems to be happening again with a long tenured star.
AEW’s Christopher Daniels has sent out a tweet saying that he is getting close to the end of the in-ring part of his wrestling life. Daniels, 52 years old, has been wrestling since April 1993 and has wrestled in various promotions around the world. He is currently the Head Of Talent Relations and an occasional wrestler for AEW. Daniels most recently faced Konosuke Takeshita over the weekend at the Tokyo Game Show.
I’m pretty sure I’m the first person to hold the distinction of wrestling for all of these great companies in their career. As I get close to the end of the in-ring part of my wrestling life, I’m honored & humbled to have..

Get back in there! It can be difficult to keep track of everyone doing everything in WWE, and that was before all of the returning stars showed up. Those returns have made the WWE roster even bigger and that is going to make things all the more complicated. Now WWE is ready to bring a former World Champion and recently returned star back into the ring.
This week on SmackDown, WWE announced that former Universal Champion Braun Strowman will be returning to the ring for his first match since coming back to the company. Strowman is scheduled to face Otis this week on SmackDown, marking his first match for WWE since May 2021. Strowman returned to the company earlier this month and has focused on the Alpha Academy more than anyone else.
Opinion: This had to happen at some point and it is nice to get Strowman back in the ring. Like him or not, there is no denying that Strowman was one of the bigger stars in WWE and it is nice to have him back in the mix. Strowman is someone who can be adde..

They are some of the people who matter. One of the biggest wrestling stories of the year remains the backstage brawl after AEW All Out. A group of wrestlers including CM Punk and the Elite got in a huge fight, resulting in several suspensions. It also suggested quite the divide backstage in AEW, but now we might know a bit more about whose side seems to be more popular.
According to a Pro Wrestling Torch audio show, the Young Bucks are mostly seen as good guys backstage in AEW. This includes wrestlers feeling like Punk should not have spoken about them as he did at the All Out media scrum. While the Bucks are seen as passive aggressive, they are not seen as “abrasive personalities”. The Bucks, along with Punk and Kenny Omega, remain indefinitely suspended from AEW.
Opinion: This is an interesting take and the kind of thing that do not get to see from this side of the curtain. The Bucks were in on the ground floor with AEW and that is going to get them a biggest status than others. At..

Wedding bells will soon be ringing! NXT superstar Mandy Rose recently announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend and former NXT superstar Tito Sabbatelli.
The announcement was made on Instagram, which you can see below:
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mandy Rose (@mandysacs)
Rose has been one of the main focal points of NXT and is currently their women’s champion. She won the title back in October when she defeated Raquel González in a Chucky’s choice Trick or Street Fight match. She also recently unified the NXT UK Women’s Championship with the NXT Women’s Championship by defeating NXT UK champion Meiko Satomura and Blair Davenport in a triple threat match at the Worlds Collide premium live event.
Sabbatelli was released from his WWE contract in June 2021.
We at Wrestling Rumors send our congratulations to the happy couple!
Editor’s Opinion:
This is tremendous news! I always love when superstars share their personal lives and find happiness outside of the ring…

That’s some good news. Jeff Hardy has not been seen on AEW television since June when he was arrested for a number of violations, including driving under the influence. However, it looks like we may be seeing him sooner rather than later.
According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Hardy is expected to be out of rehab soon, and back inside the ring. It is unknown exactly when this will be happening.
Due to his arrest, Tony Khan suspended Hardy without pay on June 14 of this year.
Hardy was mentioned on AEW television this past week by his brother Matt, in a promo setting up a match with Darby Allin.
Editor’s Opinion:
This is excellent news for everyone involved, and I’m glad he is getting the help that he needs. Despite his age, he is still one of the most exciting performers in the company, and fans always looking forward to seeing him on television. I hope that we see him back sooner rather than later and that he gets to do what he does best!
“GET EXCLUS..

They might be done. Tag teams have a long history in wrestling and the modern era has seen a new emphasis on the idea. There are all kinds of great teams out there and a lot of them are in AEW. During its history, the company has presented several teams, allowing a variety of wrestlers a chance to shine. That being said, not every team can be around forever and now one star is heavily suggesting that his team is coming to an end.
During a new interview on the Cafe de Rene with Rene Dupree podcast, AEW’s Brian Pillman Jr. implied that the Varsity Blonds, his team with Griff Garrison, was done. Pillman talked about how AEW took away Julia Hart, who joined the House Of Black, which ended the team’s appeal. He also said that he hoped when people looked back on the team, they did so fondly. It was not specifically said that the team was broken up. They have not wrestled together since since August 21.
Opinion: As much as I like the team, this might be for the best. They have lost so many ..

That sounds like a tease. There have been all kinds of returns to WWE in recent weeks and there is still a chance that several more could be taking place. One of the questions is whether a return will be a surprise or something that WWE builds up in advance, as either is possible at any given time. It seems that WWE might have been teasing something on a much smaller scale.
During a commercial break this week on SmackDown, the lights in the arena dimmed and the song “White Rabbit” Jefferson Airplane played. The fans in the arena put up their phones ala Bray Wyatt’s fireflies, which according to Inside The Ropes, could have been a hint at a Wyatt return. However, it could also have been a reference to Karrion Kross, who has formerly been known as the White Rabbit. Wyatt was released from WWE in May 2021 but a return has been speculated in recent weeks.
It certainly looked cool. Check out what the arena looked like:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Opinion: This very well co..

That would be a different world. There are two major wrestling promotions in the United States with WWE and AEW. The two companies dominate the professional wrestling scene and there is nothing to suggest that will not be the case in the future. Both are extremely well funded and have lucrative television deals. However, a potential change could be on the horizon that could shake everything up.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, NBC Universal may be considering an attempt to buy Warner Brothers Discovery within the next year and a half. Due to Warner Brothers and Discovery merging earlier this year, no negotiations can officially begin until 2024. Should NBC Universal buy the company, Monday Night Raw (NBC Universal) and AEW (Warner Brothers Discovery) would be under the same umbrella. This is still far away from happening and is still only seen as a possibility.
Opinion: Were still far enough away from this that it almost isn’t worth talking about yet, but my goodness this could b..