Joey Janela’s AEW contract is set to expire in a few months, and when interviewed by Barstool Sports, he’d reveal a contract extension hadn’t yet been offered. He would, though, seem confident it would be forthcoming as he’d say, “I think it will. If it doesn’t, I look like a f*cking idiot right now.” However, according to Denise Salcedo, who has just interviewed Janela, the GCW star has told her he now won’t be staying with the company.

32-year-old Janela was one of Tony Khan’s first signings but hasn’t wrestled for AEW since mid-January, with his past two matches being defeats on Dark, which wasn’t a good sign. Until the interview drops, it won’t be known whether Janela made the decision himself or Khan decided not to renew. Although previously Khan did allow Big Swole to say her departure was her own decision, when in fact he wasn’t happy with her abilities, so these comments can’t always be taken at face value.

While never presented as a big deal in AEW, Janela has built up a cult following on the indies and is considered one of the top talents in GCW. Recently he would feud with Matt Cardona and is currently working a program with Sean Waltman, which is likely a career highlight for the lifelong wrestling fan. While his income will now almost certainly drop without his AEW paycheck, he will undoubtedly be in demand on the indies and will presumably get to wrestle more frequently. 

Batista retired from the ring in 2019 following a WrestleMania match against Triple H and has since been focusing on his movie career. Evidently, this has limited how much of the WWE product he watches as he seemingly has just seen Rhea Ripley’s entrance and has called it out for how similar it is to his. He would do this on WWE’s Instagram after they posted a video of Ripley’s entrance from Raw when she was entering with Liv Morgan and he’d reply saying “Seems familiar somehow.“

While the entrances aren’t identical, it is easy to see how they are similar, with Ripley’s stomp coinciding with the pyro like Batista’s would with his imaginary machine gun. Of course, it’s a moot point with Batista no longer being an active wrestler and unlikely to make any WWE appearances anytime soon. However, it does appear to have irritated Batista.

This past Friday night, Pete Dunne would appear on SmackDown alongside Sheamus and Ridge Holland, joining their Peaky Blinders-inspired group. And for reasons only WWE can explain, the decision was made to rename him “Butch.” Naturally, this change was ridiculed on social media, and some fans would try and understand it themselves, even speculating he was named Butch because Holland’s real name is Luke, and thus it was an in-joke regarding the Bushwhackers.

While this seems quite a stretch, regardless of the reason, it seems WWE thought this name change out in advance as they officially filed a trademark application last week before SmackDown. So seemingly, this means fans of the British wrestler will need to get used to calling him Butch going forward.

Last year it was thought Dunne could be departing WWE as his contract was set to expire. However, he would be offered a new deal over SummerSlam weekend, and after almost a month of not wrestling, he returned to the ring on the debut of NXT 2.0, competing for the vacant NXT Championship. He would then form a short-lived tag team with Ridge Holland prior to Holland’s call-up to SmackDown. Yet, not long afterward, WWE management decided to take a closer look at Dunne by having him wrestle a dark match before a SmackDown episode in January, followed by appearances on Main Event against Akira Tozawa and T-Bar. 

Hulk Hogan was the biggest star of the 80s, but as time progressed in the 90s, his popularity would wane along with the business as a whole. Then at Bash at the Beach in 1996, Hogan would align with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, forming the New World Order, and the business would be changed forever. Now, speaking following the tragic passing of Hall at his resultant, in Clearwater, Florida, the WWE legend would credit Hall for resurrecting his career, adding, “I love him so much; I can’t even explain it to you. He had a bunch of faults, but he was a good guy.“

The nWo would be a faction in WCW until 2000 and then reunited in WWE in 2002 after the trademarks and tape library were purchased by Vince McMahon. And while Nash and Hall wouldn’t achieve the same level of success as in their previous run in WWE, Hogan would again be one of the company’s top stars. Considering how Hogan was viewed by many fans before the nWo formed, it was unbelievable to see how much success he would have, and much of this was simply from the fact Hall and Nash made him cool by association.

Scott Hall was taken off life support on Monday, following three heart attacks over the weekend, and five hours later, it would be confirmed he’d passed away aged just 63. In addition to leaving behind a son, daughter, and two ex-wives, the WWE Hall of Famer also left behind countless friends, and many of those would take to social media following his death to pay tribute to the wrestling legend. A selection of these can be read below.

While Scott Hall made it to the top of the wrestling business, he had many personal demons to deal with over the years. The belief is that his highly publicized issues with drugs and alcohol stemmed from an incident in 1983 where Hall shot a man in self-defense, with long-time friend Kevin Nash saying this led to Hall suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. However, Hall eventually managed to turn his life around thanks to support from DDP. And even his most prominent critics would comment on how much he had changed from his hellraiser days.

After suffering three heart attacks following complications from hip replacement surgery, Scott Hall was placed on life support. Fans worldwide would hope to hear positive news and that the original nWo member would be OK. However, in the early hours, Kevin Nash shared on Instagram the sad news that Hall would be having his life support discontinued once his family was with him, thus confirming there was no chance of recovery.

As of writing, it isn’t known if that has yet occurred, but a longtime friend Sean Waltman has commented on fans paying tribute to Hall by writing RIP while he is still alive.

Without knowing precisely what type of life support Hall is on and his current condition, it is impossible to accurately predict how long he will survive once he is taken off. It could just be hours or even days until he passes. Yet, it should be noted that removing life support isn’t what causes death but the underlying condition. Knowing this, though, doesn’t it make it any easier for Hall’s loved ones and the whole wrestling world, which is preparing to mourn a true legend of the sport.

On Monday morning, WWE announced that Sharmell is the latest name confirmed for their 2022 Hall of Fame Class, joining The Undertaker and Vader. However, some fans would subsequently question the merit of her inclusion when the likes of Lex Luger and Sable have still not been inducted. Seemingly anticipating this reaction, Sharmell’s husband Booker T would discuss this in an interview with PWInsider before the official announcement and put her over for furthering his career and stare she is underrated.

Booker T has previously revealed that he was planning on quitting WWE in 2005 due to having just married Sharmell and wanting to spend more time with her. However, when he told WWE, they suggested hiring her so they could be on the road together. Initially, the newly combined on-air pair would work together in the now-infamous program with Kurt Angle, and the following year her character would break out as Queen Sharmell after Booker T won the 2006 King of the Ring tournament.

Sharmell’s wrestling career, though, actually started many years before being signed by WWE as she was part of the Nitro Girls in WCW dancing under the name Storm. And once it was decided to have the Nitro Girls become involved in storylines, she would be repackaged as Paisley became the valet of Prince Iaukea and later Kwee Wee. Now with her WWE Hall of Fame induction scheduled, she is likely the most successful of all the Nitro Girls, with the possible exception of Stacy Keibler.

Nick Khan is the most influential non-McMahon family member in WWE and actually made more money than all the McMahon’s combined in 2020. This is especially remarkable when you consider he only joined the company in August of that year. Now, it has been revealed in WWE filings that in September 2022, he is set to receive another gigantic payday with his second equity grant, which was part of his sign-on agreement, having increased by $7.5 million and will therefore now be more than $16 million.

Khan was brought into the company to negotiate big-money television distribution arrangements and was influential in the Peacock deal. He has also spoken about running more shows in Saudi Arabia on a yearly basis as they bring in enormous revenue. However, outside of WWE’s management team, he is very unpopular with wrestlers and fans alike due to being the driving force in WWE’s mass releases, seemingly only being concerned with profits rather than the talents or quality of the product.

Last month it was reported that lifelong WWE fan, Rok-C, real name Carla Gonzalez had been offered a contract by the company. It also seemed doubtful she would reject this as it’s known her childhood dream was to be a WWE Diva, and now according to PWInsider.com, the 20-year-old former ROH Women’s World Champion has officially signed. It isn’t currently known what WWE’s plans for her are, but considering she has been spotted recently at NXT tapings, she will most likely be fast-tracked onto the show.

Rok-C began training at just 13 years of age and began wrestling matches in 2018 on the Texas independent scene. She would soon become recognized for her potential, and after working for Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling, she would go on to sign with Ring of Honor before winning their championship and successfully defending it on multiple occasions. However, with the company going on hiatus and releasing all talents from their contracts, she would become a free agent and since worked for both Impact Wrestling and MLW. 

WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall was hospitalized two weeks ago after a fall broke his hip. While he would undergo surgery to replace his hip, on Sunday, it was disclosed that complications from the surgery had resulted in him suffering three heart attacks. As a result, he was on life support at the Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia. Sadly, now, his longtime friend Kevin Nash has revealed in an emotional Instagram that the 63-year-old’s life support is set to be discontinued once his family, likely including son Cody and daughter Cassidy, arrive.

Nash and Hall have been close friends for decades, and when asked during a shoot interview why they got on so well, Nash would jokingly say it was because “he’s a prick, and I’m a prick.” Together, the pair worked in WWE, WCW, and TNA, with Nash supporting Hall throughout his challenging life, despite it not always being the best for his own career. The duo’s final hurrah would occur in 2021, when both men were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020, along with Hulk Hogan and Sean Waltman as the nWo.

Two weeks ago, legendary wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett shared the sad news on his personnel Facebook page that Scott Hall had been hospitalized with a broken hip following a fall. It was hoped his recovery time wouldn’t be too long with the WWE Hall of Famer receiving treatment at the Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia. However, PWTorch.com has reported that after undergoing hip replacement surgery last week, a blood clot has caused Hall to suffer three heart attacks, and he is currently on life support.

63-year-old Hall was forced to retire from the ring due to a combination of addiction issues and poor health in 2010 and had to have both a defibrillator and a pacemaker installed. He would also be diagnosed with epilepsy and, at the time, was taking eleven different medications at one point. Then three years later he would, he would undergo his first hip replacement surgery. Now fans worldwide will be hoping he can fight on and make a recovery.

Big E was stretchered out on this Friday night’s episode of SmackDown after landing on his head following an overhead belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland. It was clear almost immediately the former WWE Champion was hurt, and he would late update fans with the sad news his neck was broken while in hospital. Thankfully though, he would subsequently provide a more positive update revealing surgery won’t be required.

Of course, as soon as the injury occurred, people would begin blaming Holland, with many citing his inexperience as being the reason. And shortly afterward, Taz, who was nicknamed the “Human Suplex Machine” due to his ability to deliver multiple variations of the move, would comment on the sad situation and seemingly stay Holland’s technique was incorrect.

It’s understood Holland, who is was a professional rugby league player, was very remorseful and one of the first people to visit Big E in hospital. However, the big question for Holland is whether this accident results in his push being curtailed. It was thought the company was high on him as a future star, and that was why he was put with Sheamus. Yet, with him having only wrestled for five years, questions are going to be raised regarding whether he is ready for the spot he is in.