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This is a bit different. There have been a lot of departures from WWE this year and most of them have been for the same reason. WWE has cut all kinds of wrestlers and backstage workers over the course of the year, with no reason to believe that they are done just yet. It can be rather sad to see so many people losing their jobs, but one of the recent departures might not have been the same.
According to Fightful Select, Sonjay Dutt has left his position as a backstage producer for WWE. There is no word on why he has departed the company, though PWInsider.com is reporting that Dutt gave his notice and left the company rather than being fired or released. A former Impact Wrestling X-Division Champion, Dutt began working backstage for WWE in 2019 but was furloughed during the Coronavirus pandemic, coming back in December 2020. There is no word on what Dutt has planned going forward. He has not wrestled a match since December 2017.
Dutt had quite the in-ring career. Check out some of his..

Do it again. Tournaments are an easy concept in wrestling. You take a bunch of people, give them a prize to fight over and the last one standing wins. It can be anything from individual wrestlers to regular teams to makeshift pairings or something else fighting for money, glory, a title or even a title shot. WWE certainly loves its tournament and now they are bringing one back.
The second Breakout Tournament was announced during this week’s edition of NXT, with the first round beginning on June 13. The tournament will see eight wrestlers competing in a single elimination competition, with the winner receiving a title shot of their choice. There were no wrestlers named or brackets revealed, but the tournament will be made of young wrestlers who have not had a big chance yet. The tournament was first held in 2019 with Jordan Myles winning and ultimately challenging NXT Champion Adam Cole in a losing effort.
The first edition worked pretty well. Check out the announcement and how it has..

History has been made! There are all kinds of titles on the WWE roster and that means it can be hard to keep track of all of them. The company has to make sure that the belts stay as valuable as possible, with the best method being to have people fight over them. Nothing makes a championship look more valuable than someone wanting to win it, which is what took place this week.
This week on NXT, Isaiah Scott defeated Bronson Reed to win the North American Title. Scott pinned Reed with a 450 splash to the back after interference from his Hit Row teammates. The win is Scott’s first title in NXT and ends Reed’s reign at 42 days. The title change comes as Reed is being scouted to be called up to the main roster, having wrestled a match last week on Main Event.
That’s some history. Check out how the match went down, plus what you can expect from the new champ:
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That’s the best they have? Wrestling names are some of the most important parts of a wrestler’s full package, as the wrong name can ruin a career in a hurry. I don’t think Hulk Hogan would have done as well if he had been named Bob Smith or Undertaker would be quite the legend if he was Smiley Montgomery. WWE has some rather interesting names, and now we might be seeing some more of them.
According to HeelByNature.com, WWE has applied for trademarks for “Nikki ASH” and “Happy Corbin”. Nikki Cross debuted the ASH nickname on this week’s Monday Night Raw, announcing that it stood for “Almost A Superhero”. There is no word on how the Corbin name will be used, though King Corbin’s name was changed back to Baron Corbin after he lost his King’s Crown to Shinsuke Nakamura.
What could be. Check out the people likely to use these new names in better times:
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Opini..

They might be in trouble. The biggest WWE story of the year has been their massive releases, with dozens of wrestlers being let go from the company. Some of these are higher profile names than others, but there are some people in there who are going to be able to get something going outside of WWE. That would seem to be easy for two of them, but they are having some issues making it work.
Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay, formerly known as Peyton Royce and Billie Kay as the IIconics, appeared on a recent edition of Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast. During the interview, the two mentioned that they do not have Green Cards, leaving them unable to work at the moment. Their other option is to have someone sponsor them on a visa, though that has not been the case. They also mentioned that they are trying to keep their names out there, even though they are unable to work at the moment.
The team signed with WWE in 2015 and wrestled both together and on their own until 2018. They were calle..

NXT
Date: June 29, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett
It’s the go home show for the Great American Bash and a lot of the card is either set or all but set. They still have a few hours to get the rest of it ready and that should work out well, though I’m not sure how much they are going to put on the show. Samoa Joe still has people to choke out too so let’s get to it.
Opening recap.
Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez vs. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark The winners get a Tag Team Title shot next week. Moon and Shirai starts in on Gonzalez, who runs them both over with straight power. Blackheart comes in to springboard armdrag Gonzalez but Kai makes the save. Everything breaks down and they all brawl on the floor, setting up dives from Shirai and Moon, followed by a heck of a springboard dive from Stark to take everyone out.
We take a break and come back with Gonzalez in control over Blackheart and Shirai, in..

That’s a change. There have been all kinds of shifts backstage in WWE this year as the company continues to be shaken up. Some of these are a lot bigger than others, with some names who have been around for a very long time being gone from the company. That seemed to be the case again, but it seems that one story might have jumped the gun just a little bit.
Rumors have been swirling over WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Canyon Ceman leaving the company. However, according to PWInsider.com, sources inside WWE say that the rumors are completely inaccurate and Ceman is still with the company. Ceman has been with WWE since 2012 and has mainly worked in scouting, along with overseeing NXT and WWE developmental.
He has some responsibilities. Check out some of what Ceman has overseen:
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Opinion: I’m not sure what is going on backstage in WWE these..

His opinion matters. Vince McMahon is the most powerful person in wrestling history and that is not going to change for a very long time to come. A single decision made by McMahon can change everything about a wrestler’s career as McMahon’s endorsement or influence can make or break someone’s career. Some new wrestlers might be getting the chance to see what kind of an influence he has.
According to Fightful Select, McMahon will be at the WWE Performance Center later this week to personally evaluate talent. This comes as NXT wrestlers have been working matches prior to Monday Night Raw and SmackDown in recent weeks as part of a plan to re-energize the main roster. WWE executives Bruce Prichard and John Laurinaitis have made recent trips to watch private events held at the Performance Center.
WWE scouting can be rather interesting. Check out how the process goes:
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Are they interested? There have been a lot of wrestlers to come and go through WWE over the years with some of them being more famous than others. Only a handful have reached the top of the company as the World Champion though, and that is the case for a reason. Holding one of those championships is a special honor and now someone who has done it before is interested in returning.
During an interview with SportsKeeda, Alberto El Patron, formerly known as Alberto Del Rio in WWE, said that he would be open to a return to WWE in the future. El Patron said that he is sorry for the mistakes that he made and would consider a return as he has learned nothing is personal in wrestling. He mentioned that several of his issues with WWE took place as he was going through a divorce, which put him into a depression. There is no word on if WWE would be interested in having him back, possibly due to El Patron’s ex-fiance Paige working for the company. The two of them have accused each other of domest..

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?
WrestleReunion VI
Date: January 28, 2012
Location: The Westin Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 900
Commentators: Excalibur, Marty DeRosa
I’m not completely sure on the name of this show as I’ve seen it as both WrestleReunion VI and Pro Wrestling Superstars: Los Angeles but I’ll take the one with Roman numerals. As you can probably guess, it’s a big time indy reunion show featuring a bunch of wrestlers from years past, which can make for some interesting matchups but often some lackluster perfo..

That might be taking it a bit too far. Wrestling holds a weird place in the world. Most people understand that it is scripted and go along with it, though sometimes things can get a little confusing. There is a weird middle ground between understanding and accepting, though every now and then you see a situation take place where people outside of wrestling try to understand it. That was the case recently, and it was rather bizarre.
Last weekend, a gender reveal party with a wrestling theme was held in Eugene, Oregon. The two wrestlers, named Baby Boy and Baby Girl, had a match with the winner determining the baby’s gender. Baby Boy was about to win via submission when the referee got distracted, allowing a chair shot to let Baby Girl win. The match took place in a ring with a grass mat and fans watching around the ring.
This is one of those things you kind of have to see. Check out the match and some similar moments from WWE:
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I’m sure there’s a spot for him. One of the biggest wrestling stories of the year has been the string of WWE releases. Dozens of wrestlers have been let go from the company of the course of the last few months and there is a chance that it will continue as the year goes on. Out of all of the releases, one has a bit of a different story though, as he is already back with the company. He might be doing even more than that.
Samoa Joe was a guest on Ryan Satin’s Out Of Character podcast and mentioned that he was working to get cleared for an in-ring return, but would not elaborate beyond saying “absolutely”. He has not wrestled since February 2020 due to a series of concussions and there is no word on when he would be cleared to wrestle again. In response to being asked who he would like to face, Samoa Joe mentioned Pete Dunne, Walter and Bronson Reed among others.
During the same interview, Samoa Joe also mentioned that he is now working in the talent scouting department alongside Canyo..