I’m Laurie Blake, welcome to the WrestleTalk News, on Fridays we wear pink.
Our top story involves contract come-uppance!!
In which contracts come up.
Wrestling contracts are usually guarded with the same sort of secrecy as taking a contract
out on someone’s life, for some reason they don’t want anyone to know who has signed
what.
Maybe because the second it’s known someone’s contract is about to expire the old rumor
mill goes into overdrive about whether they will stay or whether they will go.
Well you might as well call me Windy Bloody Miller because I’m about to add some grain
to this grindstone and talk about Andrade leaving AEW.
El Idolo joined AEW back in June 2021 after leaving WWE in March that same year, and has
had a rocky road in AEW, now it’s rumored that his contract is coming up soon and he
may well be departing the company.
A cue we’ve taken from him returning to performing for CMLL in the near future.
On Wrestling Observer Radio Dave Meltzer laid it all out:
“He’s going back to CMLL, not sure exactly what week but probably relatively soon.
On Friday night’s Arena Mexico show they did a tease of him going back.
He had talked to AAA about going back there, and decided to go to CMLL.”
Now under Andrade’s current AEW contract he would be able to work in CMLL anyhow, but
according to Meltzer “even though CMLL’s drawing big crowds, there’s no real money
being paid by CMLL.
And Andrade actually charges a lot for his appearances in Mexico, so I think it’s just
something that he wants to do.”
And the reason Andrade apparently wants to go back to CMLL now is because if he should
sign with WWE when his deal comes up there will be no working with CMLL.
Meltzer added: “He thinks that his deal’s up pretty soon.
So he wanted to go back (to CMLL) in case he ends up going to WWE.”
“He’s not made a decision on what he’s doing next, he’s not signed a new deal.
But if he does go to WWE, he knows he can’t go back to Arena Mexico.”
Bryan Alvarez later confidently added that “This guy wants to go back to WWE and his
wife.”
As you likely know by now, Andrade would not be the only high profile defector from AEW
- we of course have Cody Rhodes, CM Punk - though he was pushed before he jumped - and much
more recently QT Marshall.
Marshall worked multiple backstage roles at the company, alongside being a performer and
onscreen manager, and announced his resignation from the company recently citing changes in
the overall direction as the main reason.
Now SE Scoops have been doing some digging and they learned even more details about Marshall’s
final months in AEW, most notably that he tried to resign in August, with his deal coming
up in early September he wanted to pursue an in-ring career and not be stuck as a manager
or coach.
He signed an extension with AEW that would carry him through to January, on the premise
that he would get more in-ring and TV time, though that didn’t materialize.
Now Marshall has been doing a lot of work for AAA recently and is their Latin American
Champion working under Konnan, who well known for keeping his mouth shut, spilled a whole
bunch of beans on his K100 Podcast.
Saying: “I know for a fact this had been building up.”
“He gets paid very well, but he was very frustrated because he does a lot of stuff,
and Tony [Khan is] the type of guy who changes his mind last minute.”
“… He only listens to top guys, which some of them don’t have the best interests
of the company at heart.”
Speaking of talent frustration, the primary way many of AEW’s disgruntled guys and gals
have been making said displeasure known to the public has been on social media.
Now, if you saw our news video yesterday you would know that the word on the street from
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp is that AEW’s disciplinary committee has been dealing out
fines to talent who air their grievances online.
AND most interestingly of all, those fines have been dished out by none other than the
Blackpool Combat Club’s very own Bryan Danielson.
Yes, it seems as if Danielson has turned his disciplinary efforts away from bullying poor
Wheeler Yuta and onto the rest of the AEW roster who may have a bone to pick with the
company.
This follows Danielson’s reported role in the AEW firing of one CM Punk back in September
following a backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In London.
D-Bry or should I say…
Bry-D isn’t messing about.
Talking on Fightful’s The Hump SRS said that:
“​​at least one or two people who have been fined by him”
However, it seems as if there’s some conflicting reports on just how involved Danielson actually
is in this process.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio Dave Meltzer said that while Danielson is on the
disciplinary committee, he is “not the guy” doing the fining.
Adding to the confusion, Bryan Alvarez noted that he did in fact “ask around” regarding
social media conduct fines, but curiously those he spoke to “don’t seem to have
heard that.”
So, the contradictory reports leaves us unsure as to what the actual crack is with the whole
situation.
However, it appears that one AEW star may have just implied that he has now been the
latest target of the AEW disciplinary committee.
The more I say AEW disciplinary committee, the more I want it to become a new faction.
The BCC is old news.
We want corporate Bryan.
Yesterday Mike Santana tweeted a reminder of how long it had been since he was last
featured on AEW TV, posting:
“6 Weeks” along with yawning emoji.
Curiously this tweet was deleted, with Santana later tweeting:
Fined me?
Yea.
Ok.
While this was seen by many as an implication that Santana’s previous deleted tweet had
perhaps led to a fine, it also could just be Santana having fun with the situation.
Which seems more likely based on an exchange with SRS in the comments, with Sean asking:
lmao did everyone assume it was you?
And Santana replying:
I guess
Either way it seemed as if the reaction to the situation, which I can report featured
a LOT of Danielson memes had at least provided Santana some entertainment, as he tweeted
afterwards:
Thanks for the entertainment while I soak up my beautiful island.
Moving on now and despite all the talk of AEW’s woes behind-the-scenes one thing the
product does have going for it is undoubtedly the devil storyline.
While it remains to be seen whether the anticipation of the grand reveal will be met or not, (which
it most certainly WON’T if it ends up being Jack Perry) for now, fans are having fun speculating
on who it could be under the masks.
One of the prevailing theories on the masked men’s identities is that someone either
not currently contracted with AEW, ala Mustafa Ali or someone currently injured like Adam
Cole could be involved.
While that remains to be seen it was previously reported by Fightful last month that those
currently under the masks are in fact the people who will likely be revealed to be involved
later down the line.
And in a new update on Fightful Select, this point was reiterated further saying that “as
of last week” the talent under the devil masks are still set to be played by those
currently under them.
So, with that said, discounting injured and recently released WWE talent who do you feel
is logically under the masks?
Let us know in the comments below.
So, if that report rings true then one name we can rule out as being involved is Dolph
Ziggler, who is now finally set to be at the end of his 90-day non compete clause following
his WWE release on September 21.
Unlike some of the other released names, the future of Ziggler post-WWE has always been
a bit more up in the air.
While his legacy and ability undoubtedly make him an appealing signing for any promotion,
the Show-Off may wish to instead turn his attention away from wrestling and onto his
stand-up comedy career.
While that may still prove to be the case, at the very least it seems as if Zigs is not
totally done with the wrestling biz just yet as he’s now been booked for his first post-WWE
wrestling gig.
As announced in a press release for MCW Pro Wrestling’s MCW Fan Jam and MCW Anniversary
on February 4, 2024 Ziggler was announced to appear alongside fellow former WWE stars
Matt Riddle, James Ellsworth and the Blue Meanie among others.
While it did confirm that Riddle would be competing in a match, the same was not confirmed
for Ziggler so we’ll have to wait if that proves to be Dolph’s first non-WWE match
in two decades.
One other potential home for Ziggler could be IMPACT Wrestling or, as they will soon
once again be known as…
TNA.
While TNA has seen potential landmark signings for their rebrand such as Will Ospreay and
CM Punk choose AEW and WWE respectively, many are anticipating a big splash for the promotion
in 2024.
However, it seems as if their optimism may be slightly dashed by the news that former
Knockout’s Champion Deonna Purrazzo looks set to depart the company in the new year
according to Fightful Select.
It was reported in September that Purrazzo’s contract with IMPACT was set to come up in
early 2024.
While there had been no update on a re-negotiation Purrazzo’s presence on the TNA Wrestling
graphics had some theorizing that she was set to stick around.
However that seems to not be the case with no new deal agreed between the two parties,
and Purrazzo now reportedly keen to “explore free agency”
While there has been no word yet on where she may end up landing, her final dates with
the company are said to be real soon, specifically the IMPACT Final Resolution tapings in Canada
this weekend.
Although Purrazzo’s set to explore her options elsewhere, Fightful did note that the split
with IMPACT was amicable, with the door “open” to agreeing a new deal with the company in
the future.
Lastly we finish up today with an injury update on WWE’s resident Ambulance tipper Braun
Strowman.
The Monster Among Men has been off TV for much of 2023, having undergone neck fusion
surgery in June.
Due to the severity of the issue many have been wondering if/when we can expect to see
Strowman back inside a WWE ring again.
Speaking in an interview with News18 Strowman thankfully provided a promising update:
“So I did my five-month check-up and got medically cleared to start lifting weights.
“I lost 35 pounds just sitting around for eight weeks because I wasn’t eating like
I normally do since I wasn’t lifting.
“So now we’re trying to put the weight back on.
The goal for 2024 is to continue this.
As I said, I go back after the first year to have another check-up and then get back
in the ring, getting back into shape and then getting back to passing these hands out.”
While we are approaching the traditional surprise return season in WWE AKA the Royal Rumble,
Strowman admitted that while that would be great, he is “at the mercy” of the doctors
due to the severity of the injury.
Whenever the return does come around though, one thing Strowman made sure to mention was
that he would be doing so in dedication to his close friend and former Wyatt Family leader
Bray Wyatt.
We at WrestleTalk would like to continue to extend our well-wishes to Strowman in his
ongoing recovery.
That’s all for today folks, before I let you out of here please go and check out our
brand new RPG channel Chaotic Neutral, we did our first game of Fiasco last week and
it is bananas.
Myself, Sullivan, Rosie, Dan and Tegan - yes Tegan of screaming on No Holds Board fame
had a blast playing a cast of hapless dragon slayers on an improvised comedy caper.