William Regal looked about as likely to be a WWE lifer as anyone having continued been with the company since being re-hired in 2000. Yet, he was deemed surplus to requirements earlier this week, along with names including Samoa Joe and Road Dogg. While he initially didn’t comment publicly on the news, he has now tweeted his appreciation for the company for saving his life back in 1999 and that he doesn’t want to hear any adverse comments about WWE.
Regal’s first run with WWE was nothing short of a disaster after his addiction issues with pain medication and Valium became overwhelming. While he would be released, WWE first sent him to rehab, allowing him to get clean and turn his life around. Then after a brief spell in WCW, he would return to become the star fans know him as today, holding multiple championships and winning the King of the Ring.
What is next for Regal remains to be seen. Although, judging by the outpouring of praise he received on social media from countless wrestlers he worked with, including Sasha Banks and Kevin Owens, it seems highly unlikely another promotion won’t try to bring him in and benefit from his knowledge. However, nobody would blame him if he decided to take an extended break after being with WWE for over two decades.
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Samoa Joe went from commentating at WrestleMania to being released just days later. However, he was re-hired at the behest of Triple H, put into an angle with Karrion Kross, won the NXT Championship, abruptly vacated the title, and has now been re-released. However, Joe seemingly hasn’t taken the news too badly and has stated on Twitter that he is excited about the future.
While the news of his WWE departure broke on Thursday, it’s understood that Joe was informed on Wednesday, which is also when other talents and backstage workers were cut in the previous reports. Exactly what the future holds for Joe remains to be seen as questions surrounding his injury status remain. Hopefully, though, he will be able to resume his in-ring career in a promotion that values his abilities.
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Credit facebook.com/tracy.c.james.1
Road Dogg gave many years of his life to WWE, however seemingly with long-term friend Triple H no longer wielding as much power nowadays, the company deemed him, along with numerous others, surplus to requirements. Now the WWE Hall of Famer has posted on Facebook about his release and has seemingly taken the news well, accepting it is part of the wrestling business.
Guys, I’m doing well and I thank you for all the love. I’m gonna take a few days for my self and process this. God is still on the throne and will provide. It’s just business!
Road DoggRoad Dogg has a ton of experience both inside and outside the ring, even being one of the lead writers on SmackDown previously. This should ensure he ends up with another job in the business before long. Some fans have already begun speculating about a New Age Outlaws reunion with Billy Gunn in AEW. However, given his multiple underlying health conditions, it would probably be for the best if he stayed out of the ring.
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During Wednesday night’s episode of Dynamite, Rey Fenix took a scary-looking bump following a chokeslam by Luchasauraus off the apron through a table on the floor. It was clear from the video his arm had bent the wrong way, and initial reports were that it was broken and would require surgery. Thankfully though, Bryan Alvarez of F4Wonline.com has reported that his arm, in fact, didn’t reak but was badly dislocated.
Had Fenix required surgery, he would have been forced to miss considerable time from the ring. Now though, it appears his recovery can be counted in weeks rather than months which is excellent news for both Fenix and AEW’s tag team division.
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AEW Dynamite’s move to TBS featured an excellent tag team match between The Lucha Brothers and Jurassic Express, which saw Jungle Boy and Luchasauraus crowned AEW Tag Team Champions. Sadly though, the night was tainted as Rey Fenix appears to have suffered a broken arm following a chokeslam by Luchasauraus off the apron through a table on the floor. A video of this incident can be viewed below and is reminiscent of Sid’s leg break at WCW’s Sin pay-per-view in 2001.
Following Dynamite going off the air, Fenix was taken to hospital with it believed he would need to undergo surgery. Unfortunately, this likely means the luchador will miss considerable time from the ring. Hopefully, though, Fenix can make a full and speedy recovery, as his absence will be a big blow to the AEW tag team division.
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Following on from the news that WWE has released several backstage staff, including Road Dogg and William Regal, it has now been confirmed three NXT talent have also been let go. Multiple sources have reported that Danny Burch, Timothy Thatcher, and Hachiman of The Diamond Mine are no longer with the company. However, when WWE releases talents, it can take hours for all the names to be revealed, so more may be confirmed.
Burch was a former NXT Tag Team Champion with Oney Lorcan, who was recently released and aged 40 seemingly wasn’t viewed as fitting WWE’s plans for NXT 2.0. Thatcher had been with WWE since 2020, although he had wrestled for 15 years before joining WWE and was considered one of the most realistic wrestlers in the world. Still, again, his age of 38 likely worked against him. Ultimately, the most surprising of all three releases was that of 41-year-old Japanese wrestler Hachiman’s as he had appeared during this week’s episode of NXT, and apart from his on-air role, he also worked as a coach.
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NXT recently underwent a rebrand that saw the look and set updated and a selection of fresh talent introduced. Now it appears backstage changes are underway as multiple sources have reported that the company has released Road Dogg, his brother Scott Armstrong, William Regal, Ace Steele, and David Kapoor (Ranjin Singh).
Road Dogg had worked for WWE on and off as a performer since 1994 and was previously considered a significant creative influence for NXT due to having previously been one of SmackDown’s lead writers. Unfortunately, back in March 2020, he suffered an apparent heart attack and was hospitalized but quickly returned to work by calling in virtually to help write NXT.
Regal was also another longtime talent and became associated with NXT in 2014, even having had his final match on the show. To younger fans, he will be best remembered as the on-screen General Manager of the brand. However, backstage, he was also the WWE Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting. His release is shocking as it was thought he was a WWE lifer, although seemingly that term no longer applies.
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When WWE revamped NXT to become NXT 2.0, the intention was to introduce younger talent that could make an impact on the main roster. This has resulted in the inexperienced yet physically impressive Bron Breakker receiving a significant push, and on the first NXT episode of 2022, he would win the NXT Championship from Tommaso Ciampa. While Breakker is clearly destined to be a massive star in WWE, the company has somewhat surprisingly decided to play down the fact he is the son of Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner. However, when NXT went off the air, his father, who was watching from the crowd, would join him in the ring to celebrate his victory.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”unNl9lXZ” upload-date=”2022-01-05T21:38:38.000Z” name=”Ric Steiner Joins Bron Breakker In The Ring” description=”” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]For those unaware, Rick Steiner started wrestling in the early 80s and worked for multiple promotions before forming the legendary Steiner Brothers tag team with his brother Scott in 1989. While not part of the WWE Hall of Fame due to the company and Scott not seeing eye to eye, they are regarded as one of the most influential tag teams in pro wrestling history. Although Rick would step away from the business to work in real estate, the 60-year-old isn’t believed to be retired and wrestled in both the US and Japan in 2019. Given this, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the father and son team up if WWE relaxes their policy on acknowledging Breakker as being a second-generation wrestler.
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WWE had to change their plans at the last minute for their Day 1 event this Saturday after Roman Reigns could not compete. Instead, his opponent Brock Lesnar would be inserted into the WWE Championship match, making it a fatal five-way, which he won. However, this obviously wasn’t the initial plan, and seemingly the originally planned winner was accidentally revealed by WWE via a tweet containing the below image.
While the hastily deleted tweet is not 100% proof that Big E was set to retain the WWE title, it certainly appears likely. Hence it must be disappointing for Big E to know that Reigns’ absence has cost him his WWE Championship. Nevertheless, it’s understandable why WWE put the title on Lesnar, as he is arguably the company’s biggest star and had lost his previous two matches. Now with him holding the WWE Championship, any future match against Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be an even bigger attraction.
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At WWE Day 1, Drew McIntyre dominantly defeated Madcap Moss. However, later in the show, Moss and Happy Corbin would jump McIntyre backstage, giving his neck a Pillmanizer with a chair. This led to WWE sharing that McIntyre was injured and needed a medical specialist on social media. Initially, many assumed this was just part of the storyline to continue the feud, but unfortunately, PWInsider has reported that McIntyre has been working through a legitimate neck injury and requires time off. It is unknown how long he will be out, although it was reported he left the arena wearing a neck brace, which is potentially a bad sign unless he was simply embracing kayfabe to sell the angle.
Neck injuries in wrestling are a serious issue, and over the years, countless wrestlers have lost years from their careers because of them. Often, when surgery is required, they are deemed to be career-threatening, so hopefully, McIntyre doesn’t need to go that route. The belief is that long-term WWE has big plans for McIntyre in the future, with an extended feud with Roman Reigns penciled in, so management will be hoping he isn’t gone for an extended period.
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Scotty 2 Hotty, who had been working for WWE as a trainer at the Performance Center, asked for his WWE release in November 2021. The former WWE Tag Team Champion wanted to resume wrestling, and on New Years Day, he wrestled his first match in six years when he faced Joey Janela at Game Changer Wrestling’s Die For This event. Despite not being allowed to even take a bump while working for WWE over injury concerns, he would wrestle for 23 minutes and used his trademark spots and mannerism, including The Worm. A video of him performing this ionic move can be watched below, thanks to Twitter user @sagesurge, who attended the show.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”I9Nu3Toy” upload-date=”2022-01-02T19:00:45.000Z” name=”Scotty 2 Hotty Does The Worm” description=”” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]Scotty came to fame in the late 90s as part of the tag team Too Cool with Brian Christopher after years of working as an enhancement talent for WWE. The pair would have a hip hop parody gimmick and got over with fans thanks to their dancing and flamboyance. However, when Christopher was released, he would team with Rikishi before becoming a singles performer until his release in 2007. After that, he’d go on to work indies for several years before becoming training to become a firefighter in 2013. Nevertheless, a few years later, he would return to wrestling teaching new WWE recruits.
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WWE is holding their Day 1 pay-per-view tonight, and the top two matches on the show were meant to be Roman Reigns defending the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar and a fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship. However, Reigns himself has confirmed that he is off the show. So instead, the show will be headlined by Big E vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar in a fatal five-way match for the WWE Championship.
WWE took extra precautions by keeping Reigns off the road as much as possible. The belief was that his match with Lesnar was of critical storyline importance. However, with Reigns being a leukemia survivor, his heath is everyone’s number one concern at present, and hopefully, he can make a full and speedy recovery.
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