At last month’s WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view, The Miz faced Damian Priest with zombies acting as lumberjacks around the ring. This was due to WWE being paid $1 million to promote Batista’s Army of the Dead movie. However, it was so ridiculed that Batista had to take to social media to try and distance himself from the debacle by saying he wasn’t involved in booking it.

The following night The Miz would be absent from Raw, and WWE explained this was because he’d been eaten by zombies. However, the real reason was The Miz was legitimately injured during the ill-conceived match when Priest landed on his leg. With it reported by multiple sources, he had suffered a torn ACL, it wasn’t known whether it was a complete tear that would keep him out for between 6 and 9 months. Now in an interview, The Miz has seemingly revealed the injury isn’t as severe as some feared, and that is why he can host Miz TV. Although, he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to wrestle a match again.

During the interview, The Miz would also give his verdict on the heavily criticized match. Unsurprisingly, due to be a company man, he stated that he was pleased to have been involved in something unique.

While popular opinion is the match was an embarrassment for all involved, ultimately, it will be forgotten by most. For those who do remember, it will be viewed comically along with The Gobbledy Gooker and Katie Vick.

Due to not being used, Andrade requested his WWE release at the start of March. It was initially rejected, however, he was eventually granted his on March 21. Surprisingly, he was allowed to leave without a non-compete clause, with it speculated this was likely due to his relationship with Charlotte Flair, but he was a free agent regardless of the details. Since then, he has been taking future bookings and appeared in a pre-recorded video at AAA’s Rey de Reyes event on May 1 to set up a match with Kenny Omega for his AAA Mega Championship at Triplemania XXIX.

Now, the former NXT Champion has debuted for All Elite Wrestling during Friday night’s Dynamite episode. Vickie Guerrero seemingly manages him as she would interrupt Tony Schiavone and Mark Henry, who were in the ring, and introduced Andrade under the name Andrade El Idolo. You can watch this for yourself below.

Andrade would go on to cut a short promo saying he used to be the face of Latinos, but now he will be the face of All Elite Wrestling. Subsequently, AEW would announce on social media he had officially signed with the promotion. As of writing, it isn’t known what AEW’s plans are for him. Still, considering how he was put over on commentary as a big deal, it looks likely he’ll be positioned near the top of the card.

Nick Aldis appears to be custom-made for WWE, his 6 ft 4, 240lbs, in great shape, and can cut a promo. However, he has never been given an opportunity with the company despite his wife, Mickie James, having been with the promotion until recently. The belief is due to having heat with Bruce Prichard, who leads both the Raw and Smackdown writing teams.

While Aldis has fired off tweets in the past directed at Prichard, now on Keepin’ It 100, he has revealed that their heat dates back to their time together in TNA. Aldis says he went over Prichard’s head directly to TNA owner Dixie Cartner during contract negotiations, which upset Prichard, who was head of talent relations.

While Prichard remains in power in WWE and has Vince McMahon’s ear, it seems that there is little hope of seeing Aldis compete in a WWE ring. Thankfully though, Aldis is still doing well on his own terms and is the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion in his second reign, having been with Billy Corgan’s promotion since 2017. At 34 years of age, he still has time on his side, and with the NWA’s relationship with AEW, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him working with them in the future.

The former Steve Cutler, was cut by WWE on February 4, 2021. His release was due to Vince McMahon being angry that he got ill following a New Year’s Eve party alongside his girlfriend, Deonna Purrazzo of Impact Wrestling. He had just been put alongside Baron Corbin along with Wesley Blake as The Knights of the Lone Wolf, but the angle was hastily dropped after Cutler missed TV due to the need to isolate.

The belief is McMahon wasn’t only upset that his upcoming booking plans were disrupted but also that he’d promised Roman Reigns a safe working environment when he convinced him to return. Hence, he considered this a disciplinary issue. Other wrestlers also attended New Year’s Eve parties, but they were seemingly off McMahon’s radar as they didn’t catch anything.

Now with his non-compete clause expired, and going by the name Steve Maclin he has made an appearance on Impact Wrestling’s weekly television in a coming soon video vignette. He is shown with his feet on a desk, drinking whiskey with easy listening music playing in the background. It isn’t known if Maclin has signed a long or short-term deal with Impact Wrestling at this time.

Before his short-lived and abandoned Knights of the Lone Wolf gimmick, he had been part of The Forgotten Sons stable and set for a big push on SmackDown along with Jaxson Ryker and Wesley Blake. The belief was they were going to work with The New Day and become tag champions. However, the group was taken off television shortly after debuting on the blue brand due to Ryker tweeting support for Donald Trump following the George Floyd tragedy and BLM protests.

Shaul Guerrero, the daughter of the late great Eddie Guerrero, was signed to WWE between 2010 and 2014, although her last match for them was in 2013. During that run, she would compete as Raquel Diaz. Fans had often wondered why she didn’t use her legendary surname during that time, and now in an interview with Chris Van Vliet, she has revealed that an unnamed person within WWE didn’t want her potentially dishonoring the name.

Things didn’t work out for Shaul in WWE as she was suffering from an eating disorder. The company would put her through three months of in-patient treatment to help her. However, shortly after returning to training, she asked for additional time off to heal from bumping was subsequently released. After a four-year hiatus from the business, she would return as a ring announcer, working for several promotions, including AEW for their AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament.

She finally returned to the ring in 2020 for Generation Championship Wrestling in Tampa, Florida, wrestling twice on one show. Sadly, she has since been forced to step away from the business again due to a mental illness crisis linked to her eating disorder. The third-generation wrestler clearly has a passion for the industry, so hopefully, she can continue her comeback when she is ready. There are a ton of fans out there who want to see another Guerrero succeed in the industry.

Two weeks ago, NXT referee Drake Wuertz was released by WWE. Before leaving the company, he made headlines after missing an NXT taping due to arguing against children wearing masks at a school board meeting. It’s also claimed he had heat, having refused to wear a mask himself, refusing to isolate despite being ordered to by WWE, using his WWE email address to organize activities for a conspiracy theory charity, and walking out of a speech given by Triple H about Black Lives Matter.

Now the former independent deathmatch wrestler has spoken to the 1GimmickWorld Podcast Network and told them that he was expecting his release and his heart was no longer in the job.

Wuertz had retired from the ring after signing with WWE in 2014. However is now accepting bookings and is returning to his Drake Younger name, which he used when wrestling for the likes of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Combat Zone Wrestling, and internationally for Big Japan. So far, he is only announced for one event; a benefit show alongside Low-Ki and Matt Morgan taking place in Florida.

Yesterday WWE released six wrestlers, including Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, and Lana. This resulted in a lot of unrest on social media, with fans unhappy with their favorites being cut while WWE continues to make huge profits. One fan, though, would go as far as to tweet he’d liked to have seen Baron Corbin released instead of Strowman. Corbin would read this and called the fan out for wanting him to lose his livelihood.

The fan received a lot of backlash from other fans for his insensitive tweet and has subsequently deleted his account. Many fans don’t realize what they say does reach the wrestlers they are tweeting about, and it takes a very thick skin for it not to agitate them. Perhaps, Corbin’s response will make some people think before making such comments going forward.

As for Strowman’s release, the belief is that it isn’t due to how he has been performing as of late or any specific incidents. It simply came down to economics. He was being paid approximately $1.2 million a year, and WWE didn’t feel his current position in the company warranted that kind of pay.

Tony Schiavone shocked fans worldwide when he introduced Mark Henry at Double or Nothing as an upcoming analyst for the AEW’s second TNT show named Rampage. The WWE Hall of Famer had been attached to the company since 1996 and looked to be a WWE lifer. However, the same was thought of Paul Wight, who also jumped to AEW recently.

Now the former Olympic weightlifter has shared on Busted Open the conversation he had with Vince McMahon before signing his multi-year deal with AEW. He would tell McMahon he felt someone below him was holding him back, and he wanted the opportunity to make more money.

Henry’s previous singles match took place in February 2017 when he lost to Braun Strowman on Raw. Since then, he has wrestled in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 and the Greatest Royal Rumble match in 2018. While not ever officially retiring, it was thought his in-ring days were behind him. Yet last year, he revealed he wanted to compete again, saying his motivation was to catch Wight’s record of wrestling four decades.

Samoa Joe, Billie Kay, Mickie James, Peyton Royce, Bo Dallas, Chelsea Green, Kalisto, Tucker, Wesley Blake, and Mojo Rawley were all released by WWE following WrestleMania. Since then, multiple NXT talents have also been let go, plus announcer Tom Phillips. Now it’s been confirmed on WWE.com that Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Ruby Riott, Lana, Buddy Murphy, and Santana Garrett were cut earlier today.

The most shocking name released is clearly Strowman, who has been with WWE since 2013 and only ever wrestled for the company. He has been highly pushed since breaking away from the Wyatt Family and has been regularly in contention for the WWE’s top championships. In fact, just last month, he was involved in a triple threat match for Bobby Lashley’s WWE Championship at WrestleMania Backlash. His release potentially means the end of his career, as he has stated previously in an interview that “the day I take my wrestling boots off for WWE is the day I stop wrestling.“

While nowadays it’s hard to be surprised by a WWE release, another seeming coming out of nowhere was Aleister Black’s. He had been out for six months, but then the company began hyping his return via video vignettes on SmackDown. He would return on the May 21st episode attacking Big E, seemingly setting up a feud between the duo, which now obviously won’t happen.

In May 2020, Lio Rush accused Mark Henry of tearing down fellow African American talent with his comments. Henry would deny this and revealed he had gone to bat for Rush back in 2019, helping him keep his job at the time. Legal threats were made, but thankfully everything seemingly blew over.

However, with both Rush and Henry appearing for AEW at this past weekend’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view, many fans wondered how things went with the pair sharing a locker room. Rush, though, has revealed in a tweet the duo spoke about their past falling out, and it appears they’ve put it behind them.

The pair may not be together too often, as Rush is contracted to New Japan and wrestled in the Casino Battle Royale match due to AEW’s relationship with the Japanese promotion. Although regardless of how often they are in each other’s presence, it’s great they can move on from what was an ugly dispute at one time.

The Inner Circle and The Pinnacle went to war in a Stadium Stampede match at AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view this past Sunday night. The 30-minute match successfully combined cinematic style along with traditional in-ring wrestling and left the fans lucky enough to be in attendance overjoyed at the conclusion, which finished inside Daily’s Place.

After the match had concluded and the pay-per-view had gone off-air, Chris Jericho and the rest of The Inner Circle would address the live crowd. Jericho would acknowledge everyone’s performances on the show and singled out Sammy Guevera, who was the one who got the victory for the group. He would also conclude by declaring AEW fans as the best in the world.

Early reports indicate that Double or Nothing was both a critical and commercial success for AEW, and the Stadium Stampede match is one of the primary reasons for that. It was a unique match due to being both pre-taped and live and featured cameos from Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer and Lucha libre legend Konnan. Additionally, Jericho revealed in the post-show media scrum that a stunt coordinator from the John Wick movies worked with the talent for the fight scenes.

If you haven’t watched the show, you really should go out of your way to do so. There wasn’t a bad match, and in fact, two matches are genuine MOTY contenders. There was also a highlight for old-school fans, with Sting, aged 62, rolling back the years and delivering a match fitting his legacy.

In addition to the debut of Lio Rush during the Casino Battle Royale, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry also appeared at AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view. While Rush came to wrestler, Henry was introduced by Tony Schiavone as one of the commentators for AEW’s upcoming second TNT show named Rampage, which debuts in August. Schiavone also noted that Henry will be a coach for AEW talent. You can watch the introduction for yourself in the below video.

The former Olympic weightlifter had been associated with WWE since 1996 and appeared to be a WWE lifer. However, the same was thought of Paul Wight, who also jumped to AEW. Henry last wrestled a singles match in February 2017 when he lost to Braun Strowmna on Raw. Since then, he had wrestled in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 and the Greatest Royal Rumble match in 2018. While not having an official retirement match, it was believed his in-ring days were behind him. However, speaking on Busted Open three months ago, he revealed he wanted to wrestle in the next six months. He cited his motivation for this as wanting to catch up to Wight’s record of wrestling in four decades.