Samoa Joe was released in April by WWE after the company reshuffled their commentary teams. He’d moved behind the announce table after suffering two concussions in early 2020, and with him now deemed surplus to requirements, he was let go. However, it’s believed Triple H did not agree with this decision, and following a recent meeting at the Performance Center, it was confirmed that Joe had been rehired.

Wasting no time, Joe has already made his return to WWE television, appearing during the opening segment of this week’s NXT. General Manager William Regal would state he’d done all he could for the show and was struggling with the chaos, indicating he was about to quit. This led to NXT Champion Karrion Kross accompanied by Scarlett coming out, calling him “completely pathetic.” He’d instruct Regal to say, “Kross conquers all,” but Joe would come out to a big pop with fans chanting his name.

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Regal would say that he wanted Joe to take over as General Manager, but Joe declined. Instead, he suggested that his role could be ensuring that everyone respects Regal, seemingly offering to be an enforcer. Regal said it’s an interesting idea, but only under the conditions that Joe isn’t a competitor and that he can’t lay a hand on anyone unless provoked.

These conditions were likely made to explain why Joe won’t be wrestling due to not being medically cleared. Although that day may not be too far off, as later in the show, Joe would get physical after being shoved during a backstage angle between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly. This appeared to qualify as a provocation as Joe would take off his jacket and choked out Cole.

Don West came to fame as a host and salesman on late-night television and caught the attention of Vince Russo. The controversial writer tried to recruit West for WCW, but he declined. However, when TNA later needed a color commentator, Russo would suggest West to TNA founder Jeff Jarrett, and this time, West accepted the job offer.

He’d work for the promotion for a decade before leaving in 2012 to become director of sales and marketing for the Wenatchee Wild ice hockey team. Nowadays, he works as a radio presenter for News Radio 560 KPQ in Wenatchee, Washington, but has recently gone on hiatus. It’s now been sadly revealed via a statement on the station’s website that he has been diagnosed with a brain lymphoma.

Following the disclosure, many of those in the wrestling world who worked with West over the years expressed their sadness at the news and sent prayers. Among them was Jarrett, who revealed on Twitter he’d just spoken to West, and he was in good spirits despite his diagnosis.

West has a tough battle ahead of him dealing with this rare disease that represents under 4% of all brain tumors. Surgery is not usually an option due to the risk of severe side effects. Instead, chemotherapy is typically the first cause of treatment, along with steroids to control brain swelling.

Eva Marie returned to WWE television on the May 3rd episode of Raw, having departed the company in 2017. Her return came in the form of a video vignette in which she asks fans, “do I have your attention?” and “this is Eva-Lution.” Since then, it has been reported that WWE’s plan for her is to use her as a vehicle to get another wrestler over.

During Monday night’s episode of Raw, Marie was set to make her promoted in advance in-ring return. But, instead, Scottish wrestler Piper Niven, who was accompanying her, took her place and quickly defeated Namoi. The commentators pretended not to know who Niven is despite her having competed in the Mae Young Classic in 2017 and NXT UK as recently as March. It’s now expected her name will be Doudrop in the future.

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While Niven was made to look strong in the one-minute match, many fans were unhappy with Naomi being used to get her over and WWE bait and switching Eva Marie’s return match. #NaomiDeservesBetter would trend on Twitter, and some took out their frustration on Niven, which included mocking her appearance. This led to Mia Yim, who has previously shared a locker room with Niven, tweeting out angrily against body-shaming.

It’s disappointing to see fans posting such insensitive comments, and they need to accept that the days of everyone being a fitness model are long gone. The belief is Eva Marie is set to receive a big push, and thus via association, so will Niven, who has been signed with WWE since 2019. Before that, she mainly wrestled on the UK independent circuit and was part of the ill-fated ITV relaunch of the World of Sport.

During the November 18 episode of Dynamite, Jon Moxley revealed that his wife of three years, Renée Paquette, was at home pregnant when he was cutting a backstage promo. The mother-to-be posted would later post a picture of a cut cake on her Instagram, along with the caption “It’s pink!” confirming the couple was having a baby girl. Now she has revealed on Twitter that she has given birth, describing their daughter as “absolutely incredible!! 🥰“

While Paquette didn’t mention the baby’s name, she has previously stated on her podcast that she and Moxley were planning to name their daughter “Nora” as a tribute to her grandmother, Eleanor. This is the first child for Paquette and Moxley, who began dating in 2013 while both were working for WWE. They’d go on to marry at their Las Vegas home in an impromptu ceremony on April 9, 2017.

Antonio Inoki is one of Japan’s most well-known cultural icons, having founded New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1972 in addition to being one of the top wrestlers of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. He is like both Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon combined and helped make pro wrestling in Japan the phenomenon it once was.

Sadly the 78-year-old has been hospitalized for much of 2021 for multiple reasons, including diabetes and the buildup of abnormal amyloid proteins in the heart, kidneys, liver, or other organs. A few weeks ago, Inoki also had to have surgery for the twisting of his intestines, and fans in his home country and around the world are keeping him in their thoughts.

Now the former 12-time world champion has shared a video with fans of himself bedridden. His weight loss is evident and especially shocking, as he recently appeared looking far healthier in a recent episode of Dark Side of the Ring, talking about the famous Collision in Korea event. While he is clearly unwell, he seems to be in good spirits and able to communicate.

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Inoki has lived an extraordinary and enthralling life. Apart from his wrestling career, he also faced off against boxer Muhammad Ali in a mixed martial arts fight before the term was commonly known and entered politics in 1989. This even led to him traveling to Iraq to successfully negotiate with Saddam Hussein to release Japanese hostages. Hopefully, the day is still some way off, but when Inoki does pass, it will be a dark day for Japan and the world of wrestling as a whole.

WWE released Samoa Joe in April after he lost his spot behind the announce desk. He’d been working there since suffering two concussions in early 2020, with one happening during an eight-man tag match on Raw and the other less than a month later after hitting his head on a table during a commercial shoot. With him unable to wrestle, the decision was made to cut him for budgetary reasons. However, PWInsider has now reported he is already back with the promotion.

He had been spotted at the WWE Performance Center last week, and the belief is Triple H wanted Joe’s return due to not wanting him signing elsewhere despite not yet being medically cleared to wrestle. At last night’s NXT Takeover show, WWE teased that William Regal may be set to end his run as General Manager of the brand, and the speculation is that Joe will be taking that spot.

Joe initially wrestled as part of NXT without a contract, making his debut at TakeOver event in May 2015. Due to large merchandise sales, WWE would offer him a contract, and he’d become exclusive to them in August. While in NXT, he won the NXT Championship twice and would join WWE’s main roster in 2017. This would see him twice challenging Universal Champion Brock Lesnar in PPV main events.

Bruan Strowman is no longer with WWE, so he doesn’t have to worry about playing nice with fans anymore. This was evident when one Twitter user mocked Raquel Gonzalez’s chest size. This came after Strowman tweeted out support for the NXT Women’s Champion following her victory over Ember Moon, saying, “She could beat all the guys in Nxt also!!!“

This public call-out would see the former Universal Champion trend on Twitter, and the so-called fan opted to delete his account. It has been speculated for some time that Strowman and Gonzalez are dating, which would explain why Strowman came to her defense. However, it should be noted neither of them has confirmed this publicly. They are though known to be good friends since they began training together, with Strowman speaking about this last year in an interview.

While Strowman is currently unavailable to wrestle elsewhere due to his non-compete clause, his agent is taking future bookings and asking for circa $20,000 per appearance. On the other hand, Gonzalez is at the top of the NXT as the brand’s women champion after she defeated Io Shirai at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Before that, she established herself at the top of the card after defeating Rhea Ripley at New Year’s Evil in a Last Women Standing Match.

Since WrestleMania, WWE has made multiple releases that have seen names like Braun Strowman, The IIconics, Samoa Joe, and Lana depart the company. Therefore it could be assumed that WWE’s locker room morale is at an all-time low. However, in a recent interview, Sheamus has stated this isn’t the case, and morale is better now than when he joined the promotion.

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The release of both Strowman shows almost nobody is safe at the moment, with the company focusing on making budget cuts despite record-breaking television and streaming deals. Seemingly the wrestlers know that a lack of job security is part of life in WWE. All they can do is work hard and hope the writers continue creating storylines for them, although as Aleister Black’s release shows, even that might not be enough.

Samoa Joe had been working behind the announce desk for WWE since suffering two concussions in early 2020. One occurred during an eight-man tag match on Raw, and the other was less than a month later after hitting his head on a table during a commercial shoot. While his announcing work had been highly praised when WWE made changes to their commentary teams due to the hiring of former ESPN host Adnan Virk, Joe was left without a role. WWE seemingly saw him as surplus to requirements, with him no longer required on commentary and unable to wrestle, they released him in April.

Speculation has now begun that Joe could be set to make a return to the company after Fightful revealed he was seen at the WWE Performance Center last week. The belief is that some within WWE are pushing for him to be rehired Joe and become part of their NXT brand as an in-ring competitor. If that is the case, it would indicate he has either been medically cleared to resume wrestling or is expected to be soon.

Joe initially wrestled as part of NXT without a contract, making his debut at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable in May 2015, having a faceoff with Kevin Owens. He continued to make indie dates but was offered an exclusive WWE contract due to impressive merchandise sales and became exclusive to WWE in August. While in NXT, he’d twice hold the brand’s championship and was called up to the main roster in 2017 as part of WWE’s Raw brand. During this time, he would achieve his career-high by challenging Brock Lesnar twice in pay-per-view main events for the Universal Championship.

The Dark Order had many detractors when it initially formed and was much maligned until John Huber, known better to wrestling fans as Brodie Lee and Luke Harper, arrived as The Exalted One. Almost overnight, his presence gave the faction credibility and direction. Tragically he would pass away last December, aged just 41.

At one time, it appeared Adam Page was about to become the group’s leader, but that never occurred, and since then, fans have been speculating about who may eventually take over the role. One fan would suggest on Twitter that either Aleister Black and Braun Strowman, who are no longer with WWE, could be good choices. However, Cody Rhodes would respond, confirming that The Dark Order doesn’t need a new leader as Huber’s eldest son Brodie Lee Jr. is already the leader.

Brodie Lee Jr. first became known to wrestling fans when he was awarded the TNT Championship belt his father previously held in an emotional segment on the tribute episode of Dynamite. Since then, he has made frequent appearances for the promotion going by the name Negative One. While he still has a long time to wait, Lee Jr. actually has an official contract with the AEW waiting for him when he turns 18. So if he chooses, he can follow in his father’s footsteps.

Earlier today (Friday 11th June), Taz took to Twitter to share the news he is undergoing surgery today to having what he describes as a lump removed from his face. It doesn’t appear to be too serious from his describes it, and in the below video he shared, he seemed more concerned in reminding fans that AEW Dynamite airs tonight at 10 pm.

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Hopefully, the procedure goes well for Taz, who is one of AEW’s key men, as he leads his own stable consisting of FTW Champion Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, and his son Hook. Plus, he commentates on AEW Dark alongside Excalibur. Therefore it makes sense for him to have gotten the surgery the week of a taped episode of Dynamite, so he doesn’t miss anytime.

Earlier this week, Lio Rush tweeted out the news that he plans to retire after he recovers from injury and fulfills his obligations to New Japan. AEW’s Tony Khan and MLW would post supportive messages following the news, and fans would share their concerns.

However, SmackDown ring announcer Greg Hamilton would instead post a derogatory comment where he’d say “Wow…..unreal…..if we all didn’t have our own lives and families to take care of I just might pretend I give a 🤬.” This resulted in a lot of backlash towards Hamilton, and he would swiftly delete the tweet.

Since then, Hamilton has reconsidered his tweet and apologized. He’d admit he didn’t always see eye to eye with Rush but acknowledged that Rush is both a great father and a wrestler that’ll be missed.

Hamilton’s Twitter account is currently set to protected as of writing, so only those he allows to follow him can read his tweets and reply. This may suggest his apology was not received well by some fans and that he continued to receive adverse tweets.