Here's your wrestling news for January 6th 2022
And your headlines for today include
WWE Releases TONS Of Names From NXT 2.0! Who’s Gone In The First Cuts Of 2022?
Update On Sasha Banks Injury! Will The Boss Miss The Royal Rumble?
WWE Files Copyright Claims Against Hip Hop Star !
Controversial AEW Name Refutes Idea They Have ‘Go-Away Heat’ !
Huge Return Coming This Week At AEW Battle Of The Belts !
What Happened After NXT 2.0 New Year’s Evil Went Off The Air? And More !
We’re kicking off today with WWE, and although it’s a new Year, the company is back to their mass-releasing ways.
Yesterday evening, WWE released even more names from the company, with William Regal no longer under contract with NXT.
After a brief tun in the late 1990s, Regal returned to the WWF in 2000, and had remained with the company for over 21 years before his
release this week.
In a statement, WWE said that due to the “continued evolution of NXT 2.0”, the decision was made to part ways with several staff members this week.
On Twitter, there was quick backlash to this decision, with several in the industry praising Regal for all he’s done as part of NXT.
AEW’s FTR said that their team would not exist without the British legend, and Johnny Gargano said how Regal is responsible for plenty of indie
guys getting an opportunity in NXT
Mick Foley questioned WWE’s decision to release Regal, saying that whoever hires him next will be fortunate to do so.
At this time, there’s no word on what Regal’s post- WWE plans are, as it’s unclear if he’s under any non-compete clause, but after over two decades,
his time with the company is over.
Regal isn’t the only big name to be released this week, as plenty more names were cut from the NXT 2.0 brand.
Former NXT Tag Champion Danny Burch has also been released, with his last match being in August last year, where he an Oney Lorcan lost to MSK.
Burch had been working as a Performance Center coach since then, but that isn’t happening anymore.
Timothy Thatcher is also gone, with his last match being an August 23rd loss to Ridge Holland, and like Burch, he too had been working as a coach.
Hideki Suzuki has also gone, after working as Hachiman of the Diamond Mine, and his most recent appearance was on this week’s New Year’s Evil.
He too had been working as a coach, as had Cathy Corino, who had served under the role since October last year, after a tryout to be a coach in May 2021.
Also known as Allison Danger, Corino also helped WWE with the Summerslam 2021 Weekend tryouts in Las Vegas, and is the younger sister of ECW
alum and current WWE producer Steve Corino. WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg Brian James is no longer with the company, after serving in various
roles, including lead writer of SmackDown from 2016-2019, and more recently an NXT producer. Dave Kapoor, better known as Runjin Singh is out,
and after previously working as Senior Vice- President of Creative, moved to Florida in 2020 to work full-time in NXT.
Ryan Katz is out of his role as NXT creative producer, and was the man who overtook promo classes after the 2015 passing of Dusty Rhodes.
Scott Armstrong, who was hired in 2006 is also gone, as the referee/wrestler/producer had been furloughed in 2020, but returned last fall to work
backstage at NXT. Former MLW and New Japan star George Carroll has been released from his contract, as has
Christopher Guy, who was hired as a coach in 2019
WWE has also parted ways with Sarah Cummins, who was their senior Vice President of Consumer Products, after over three years with the company.
It’s always difficult to lose your job, and it’ll also be hard on those left behind, as 2022 is kicking off with the first of what’s expected to be many
waves of releases over the next 12 months.
Over the weekend, Sasha Banks suffered some kind of injury during an untelevised live event, which led the referee present to put up the X sign.
Helped to the back by the official and a member of the ringside crew, Banks later told fans she was doing fine, and now we know more about what
happened. PW Insider reports that during Banks’ match with SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair
the Boss suffered a sprained leg, but they didn’t note if she’ll need much, if any time off. The report did mention that Banks was a hot
discussion point backstage during this week’s RAW and it seems her leg may not be as good as he first implied.
With the Royal Rumble drawing nearer, the last thing WWE needs is to lose Banks to an injury, especially as there’s not enough main roster
women for the 30-woman Rumble match already, and we can only hope that the Boss is able to get back in the ring after this latest setback
In the world of Hip Hop, Westside Gunn is one of the most established rappers in his field, and it’s no secret that he’s a huge wrestling fan.
That fandom may have somewhat dipped now though, as WWE has filed several YouTube copyrights against Griselda Records, the label led
by Gunn himself. The songs that have been removed due to copyright are Claiborne Kick, the Hurt Business
French Toast and Allah Sent Me, all of which include snippets of WWE audio and interviews.
These claims were made public by Griselda Records themselves, who questioned WWE’s motives for flagging these songs.
This isn’t the first time Gunn has been an indirect target, as last year, Greg Hamilton threatened a lawsuit against Gunn for using some of his
announcing in his music, and even threatened to sick WWE’s lawyers on the hip-hop star. This threat didn’t lead to a lawsuit, but it did lead
to Hamilton being fired from WWE, but this time, the company are the ones with an issue with Westside Gunn.
AEW news now, as Brandi Rhodes recently celebrated 3 years as the company’s Chief Brand Officer, but fans weren’t so keen to celebrate wit her.
Much like her husband, Brandi is the subject of tons of backlash from fans, who feel that she and Cody are in positions on the show neither deserve
deserve to be in.
On last week’s Dynamite, Brandi confronted Dan Lambert in a segment that once-more didn’t go down well with fans.
Taking to Twitter, Rhodes defended her segment, and refuted the idea that she has go away heat, claiming that her segment with Lambert was
statistically the high point of the show. Fans may not be on board with Brandi, or her husband for that matter, but the pair consistently
appear on TV, and until something major happens, that trend will continue, seemingly for years to come.
In November, Jon Moxley entered in-patient rehab to deal with his problems with alcohol, and now the former World Champion is getting back in the ring.
We previously reported that Moxley will make his GCW return later this month, but his AEW homecoming will be far sooner than that.
According to Bodyslam.net, Moxley will make his return to AEW imminently, and it could come as soon as this week.
With Saturday being the Battle of the Belts special, we can’t think of a better time for the former AEW World Champion to make his return,
and we’re thrilled to hear Moxley is doing better after entering rehab.
And we’re ending with NXT 2.0, which this week saw Bron Breakker captured the NXT Championship during New Year’s Evil,
but there was a special moment waiting for him after the show went off the air.
Thanks to sources who were in attendance, we can report that post New Year’s Evil, Rick Steiner,
the father of Bron appeared, and celebrated with his son in the ring.
Tommaso Ciampa was gracious in defeat, shaking Steiner’s hand, before heading to the back so the father-son
duo could celebrate together. This celebration was later shared by WWE on social media, and even
The Rock took a moment from his busy schedule to comment,
saying the Steiners celebrating was very cool.
It was earlier this week that Steiner said he’d love to share the ring with his father and uncle Scott,
and while Big Poppa Pump may never appear for WWE,
Rick was able to enjoy a touching moment with the new NXT Champion.