During Saturday night’s Slammiversay pay-per-view, several former WWE talents would debut or return to Impact Wrestling. In addition, New Japan’s Jay White would appear after the man event and teased a confrontation with Kenny Omega. This generated the majority of fan interest and discussion following the pay-per-view. Although also newsworthy was a video vignette for The Drama King, an upcoming character which you can watch below.

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The Drama King is set to be Aiden English’s new gimmick, with the former WWE wrestler scheduled to debut at Impact’s upcoming set of television tapings. English hasn’t been very active in the business since departing WWE, only wrestling a handful of times under his real name Matt Rehwoldt on indie shows. Instead, his primary focus has been building his brand as a YouTuber and Twitch streamer.

English spent eight years with WWE, and during that time, he was best known for his tag team, The Vaudevillains, with Simon Gotch. When The company released Gotch in 2017, English would work alongside Rusev, and thanks to “Rusev Day,” they became a popular double act. However, in typical WWE fashion, the company would break them up without a clear direction for either, and English went on to work on commentary before being released in April 2020.

Last night was the 17th annual Slammiversary event for Impact Wrestling, and like last year the company had been promoting multiple surprises. Fans had been speculating since WWE began releasing talents who would appear, and with Impact Wrestling having a working relationship with AEW and New Japan, it made it hard to make any predictions.

During the second match on the PPV, the first surprise would come with Chelsea Green, who last wrestled for the promotion as Laurel Van Ness teaming with her fiancé Matt Cardona. The couple would defeat Brian Myers and Tenille Dashwood, who herself once was in a relationship with Cardona. Green had made an appearance just last weekend for Ring of Honor and is scheduled for their upcoming Women’s Championship tournament, so is working for both promotions.

Then during a multiple-team Impact Tag Team Championship match, won by the Good Brothers, former WWE talent, No Way Jose would debut as Fallah Bahh’s tag partner. His name in Impact is “No Way,” as WWE owns the trademark for the name with Jose included. However, Impact accidentally referred to him No Way Jose, which could cause legal issues, should WWE seek to make an issue out of it.

Later in the show, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo would retain her title against a debuting Thunder Rosa, who, while a regular for AEW, is contracted to Billy Corgan’s NWA. Following the match, Mickie James returned to Impact and invited Purrazzo to NWA’s all-women’s PPV named EMPOWERRR, scheduled for August 28. Purrazzo didn’t officially accept, but seeing as James laid her out with a kick, it’s assumed she will be at the event seeking revenge.

Finally, after Omega’s victory over Sami Calligan in the main event, the lights would go out, and New Japan’s Jay White made his Impact debut. Omega, Anderson, Gallows, and Callis teased Too Sweeting him as White starred at them but would be interrupted by David Finlay and Juice Robinson, who ran in as the show went off the air. Fans in attendance would later confirm that White would hit his Bladerunner move on Robinson before leaving.

It should also be noted that during the show, a short vignette teased the debut of Drama King, with a painting showing “Long live the Drama King.” It wasn’t announced who the character is played by, but the belief is that it’s Matt Rehwoldt who wrestled for WWE as Aiden English. He was released by WWE on April 15, 2020, and since has only completed a handful of times on the indies.

Retribution was a faction hellbent on destroying WWE. The members were unhappy with how they’d been treated in the WWE system and were out for vengeance in the storyline. It wasn’t a terrible idea on paper, but fans mocked the group after WWE botched the execution and gave the members dreadful outfits and unconventional names.

Among the members was Australian Shane Thorne, who went by the bizarre name Slapjack, and it should be noted he did the best to make the most of his main roster opportunity. However, when WWE pulled the plug on the group during the Fastlane pre-show, he quickly became an afterthought. He would go on to compete in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal but was clearly included simply to make up the numbers.

Though, it now appears that Thorne is set to receive a second chance on the main roster. While he recently wrestled a dark match against Karrion Kross just for WWE officials, he has now appeared in front of fans participating in a Battle Royal (won by Big E) when SmackDown went off-air. In the video you can watch below, which was filmed by Twitter user @HunterPWWE5, he can be seen in new ring gear, portraying a babyface.

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Thorne has been with WWE since 2016, following a successful tryout the prior year. He would team with his long-time tag partner Nick Miller in NXT and work with teams including The Authors Of Pain, American Alpha, The Street Profits, and The Revival. He became a singles competitor at the end of 2018 and challenged Ricochet and Velveteen Dream for the NXT North American Championship on house shows. Then after going through several tag partners, including Daniel Vidot, Bronson Reed, Brendan Vink, and Dorian Mak, he was made part of Retribution.

Before this week’s episode of SmackDown, Davey Boy Smith Jr. competed in a dark match before the live fans in attendance. He would be referred to as Harry Smith and teamed with Austin Theory wrestling Odyssey Jones and Xyon Quinn. It wasn’t known at the time if he was signed with WWE or just receiving a tryout. However, following SmackDown in an interview on WWE’s social media, he would state his back in WWE, and he wants to show how much he has grown over the past decade.

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Smith Jr. is the son of the late great British Bulldog and wrestled for WWE between 2006 and 2011, where he had tag team championship success alongside Tyson Kidd as part of The Hart Dynasty. Since then, he has competed internationally and had a long run teaming with AEW’s Lance Archer, with the duo winning New Japan’s IWGP and Noah’s GHC tag team championships. He recently appeared on WWE television, inducting his father into the WWE Hall of Fame, and since then, there have been rumors he was in talks with the company about returning.

The first-ever Universal Champion Finn Bálor returned to WWE’s main roster during this week’s edition of SmackDown. Sami Zayn would be in the ring complaining about WWE’s supposed conspiracy about him when he was interrupted by Bálor’s music. Zayn would pretend to be welcoming the Irishman back to Smackdown but then went to attack him. Bálor, though, avoided the attack and would leave Zayn laying after hitting the Coup de Grace.

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This was Bálor’s first main roster appearance since losing a virtual squash match at SummerSlam 2019 to The Fiend. This led to him going on hiatus for two months, and he used this time off to marry sports journalist Verónica Rodríguez and heal up. He’d then return as part of NXT on October 2nd, which was when AEW Dynamite debuted on TNT with WWE management, hoping his star power would help in a ratings battle.

Until recently, he had been a prominent part of the brand but lost the NXT Championship to Karrion Kross at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in April and then put him over again in a rematch a few weeks later. With NXT and AEW no longer going head to head, Balor is no longer required in NXT. Plus, in a recent interview with Fox Sports, he explained he wanted to return to one of WWE’s two main shows, feeling he didn’t accomplish all he could during his previous run.

SmackDown is back in front of fans tonight and takes place at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. WWE has already announced two big matches with SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair defending against Carmella, plus Edge and SmackDown Tag Team Champions Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio vs. The Usos and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Now it appears WWE is also planning on showcasing the return of a big star to the blue brand.

Insider Twitter account @WrestleVotes claims Finn Bálor is set to appear on this week’s SmackDown. Until recently, the former Universal Champion had been a prominent part of the brand but lost the NXT Championship to Karrion Kross at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in April and then put him over again in a rematch a few weeks later.

Bálor was The Fiend’s first opponent, and following a virtual squash match at SummerSlam 2019, the Irish wrestler was off television for two months. He used this time off to marry sports journalist Verónica Rodríguez and heal up. He’d then return as part of NXT on October 2nd, which was when AEW Dynamite debuted on TNT with WWE, trusting his star power would help the show in a ratings battle.

With NXT and AEW no longer going head to head, Balor is no longer required on what many still regard as WWE’s developmental brand. Plus, in a recent interview with Fox Sports, he admitted that he wanted to return to one of WWE’s two main shows, feeling that he didn’t accomplish all he could during his previous run.

Last week it was announced by WWE that Bayley was injured and would be out of action for 9 months. At the time, the specifics around the injury she sustained were not revealed. Later though, it became known she tore her left ACL while training at the Performance Center. With WWE talent set to return to the road, all but the very top talent were instructed to spend time working out in preparation, which is when Bayley’s injury occurred.

Now the SmackDown star has shared on social media that, as expected, she was having surgery to repair the tissue which joins the thigh bone to the shin bone at the knee joint. While some patients recover simply through physical therapy, surgery is usually the chosen option to prevent further tears for someone as active as a pro wrestler. Given the timelines, it would seem most likely that Bayley will work towards an in-ring return in time for WrestleMania 38.

Bayley had been set to face SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at this weekend’s Money In The Bank pay-per-view in an “I quit” match. With her being unable to compete, WWE has put Carmella in her spot. However, instead of facing off at Money In The Bank, the pair are wrestling on this week’s episode of SmackDown despite Belair being the main focus of the PPV’s poster.

Goldberg was expected to wrestle Roman Reigns this year but plans changed when WWE didn’t have a suitable challenger for Drew McIntrye at the Royal Rumble. McIntyre would successfully retain his WWE Championship in under 3 minutes in a quick and effective match, and Goldberg has since been on hiatus. Although with another match for 2021 remaining on his contract, his return has been inevitable.

Now Fightful Select has reported the former WCW star is set to return to WWE television as soon as this Monday for Raw. Additionally, his return is not simply to help ratings but to set up a match between himself and current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley. Seemingly this ends the speculation that a dream match between Lashley and Brock Lesnar would occur at SummerSlam, with Goldberg having been given the challenger spot.

As this will be Goldberg’s final match of the year, it would appear to be a foregone conclusion Lashley will be victorious. However, with Money In the Bank set to take place this weekend, there is every chance Drew McIntyre could win the briefcase and choose to cash in on Goldberg at Summerslam. This would be a way for WWE to get the title back on McIntyre while taking into account the Hell in A Cell stipulation that he cannot challenge for the WWE Championship while Lashley is champion.

Goldberg ended 12 years away from WWE in 2016 when he returned to the company to feud with Lesnar. After dropping the Universal Championship to Lesnar at WrestleMania 33, many believed that was the end of Goldberg’s career. That though wasn’t the case, and since 2019 he has wrestled twice per year for the company facing The Undertaker, Dolph Ziggler, The Fiend, Braun Strowman, and McIntrye, as mentioned earlier. In total, those five matches have resulted in less than 20 minutes of in-ring action but are believed to have earned Goldberg significant payoffs.

Becky Lynch has been gone from WWE television since announcing her pregnancy publicly on Raw back in May 2020. In a heartfelt segment, she would relinquish the Raw Women’s Championship she had held for 398 days to Asuka. She would then disappear from the spotlight and give birth to a baby daughter on December 4, 2020.

Since then, fans have been clamoring for her return, without much news. That was until WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan gave an update on The Colin Cowherd Podcast before WrestleMania 37, confirming Lynch would be resuming her wrestling career in “the not too distant future.“

Lynch has been working out at the Performance Center with Indi Harwell recently, so her return appears imminent, and now PWInsider.com has reported that she is scheduled to at this Sunday’s Money In The Bank pay-per-view. It isn’t confirmed whether Lynch will appear on camera, however, the timing makes sense with fans returning to shows. It should also be noted that there is still a free spot in the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match which, as of writing, has yet to be publicly announced, which, if it ends up going to Lynch, would be an excellent way for her to return.

Buddy Murphy was part of one of WWE’s longest-running feuds last year when he was aligned with Seth Rollins in his program against Rey Mysterio. The storyline would famously produce the now much ridiculed Eye For An Eye match. However, it also introduced Rey Mysterio’s wife and daughter to WWE fans, leading to an onscreen romantic relationship between Murphy and Mysterio’s daughter Aalyah.

The storyline was very soap opera-ish, which WWE loves to do. But, many fans were unhappy with them being coupled up due to their age difference, with Murphy being 32 and Aalyah just out of high school and aged 19. Now in an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Murphy has admitted he was also troubled by it, especially when it came to kissing Aalyah.

The angle would end up abruptly dropped, and a victory over Seth Rollins, which could have made Murphy an established star, ended up meaning nothing. Murphy would soon be off taken off television, and when he did return, it was to put over Cesaro twice before making up the numbers in the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Less than two months later, the former WWE Cruiserweight and Raw Tag Team Champion would be deemed surplus to requirements and released. What the future holds for him now remains to be seen. As an Australian, his work visa is an issue, so he needs to sign a full-time deal with a company to stay in the US. Meaning he needs a contract offer from Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor, or AEW not long after his non-compete ends in September.

Tammy Sytch, best known to wrestling fans as Sunny, is now a free woman after being released from the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in New Jersey in June. She has since described her most recent imprisonment for driving while her license was suspended, eluding police, and violating a domestic violence restraining order as “misunderstandings.”

The former WWE, ECW, and ECW performer is in the process of rebuilding her life and recently reopened her account on a popular adult subscription website. Additionally, it has been reported that she filed a trademark application last month to take ownership of her WWE name, “Sunny,” officially.

Now it has been announced she is set to return to the world of pro wrestling, having been booked to appear for Absolute Intense Wrestling on September 10. For those unaware, AIW is a Cleveland-based independent promotion that has been regularly running shows since 2005. The WWE Hall of Famer is set to be the show’s main attraction, with her being the focus of the poster. Also, in a nod to the infamous comment made by Shawn Michaels in his feud with Bret Hart, the event is titled “Sunny Days.”

Sunny hasn’t made many wrestling appearances in recent years due to her frequent run-ins with the law. Plus, many promotions choose not to associate with her due to her controversial social media posts and involvement in the adult industry. Clearly, AIW isn’t concerned with any possible fan backlash, and it’s assumed her involvement with the show will be a meet and greet.

Michael Elgin, who is best known to wrestling fans for his matches in Impact Wrestling and New Japan, took to Twitter last year to announce that he has developed an addiction to painkillers due to self-medicating. He had decided to tackle these issues head-on and went to rehab. Following a long hiatus from the ring, he would return in February, and it had been hoped he had turned his life around.

Sadly it has now been reported that the 17-year pro wrestling veteran was arrested and charged for violating a protective order last month. The order had been filed by Elgin’s ex-fiancé, who claims she was being abused sexually, mentally, verbally, and emotionally by him. It is claimed he violated the protective order over 60 times, and a full copy of the police incident report can be read at WrestlingNews.co.

Elgin had been contracted to Impact Wrestling, but after being named in the #SpeakingOut movement, he was released on June 26th, 2020. He had become widely known in the wrestling world when he had one of the greatest matches in ROH history when he wrestled Davey Richards at 2012’s ROH Showdown In The Sun. His career highlight would then come in 2016 when he defeated Kenny Omega for New Japan’s IWGP Intercontinental Championship.