Here's more wrestling News for January 7 2022
And your Headlnes for this afternoon Include
Recently Released WWE Employee Admits To Huge Mistakes!
“Vince Didn’t Even Know I Worked There!” Former WWE Superstar Hits Out At Company After Being Let Go !
Brock Lesnar Refused To Work With Former WWE Champion! Who Did The Beast Say No Too?
Real Reason Why 21 Year Veteran Of WWE Was Released !
WWE Returning To Saudi Arabia Very Soon !
Former NXT UK Champion WALTER Announces Last Match!
Will AEW Reunite Legendary Tag Team Following Latest Cuts?
WWE Personality Announces She’s Engaged! And More !
We’re kicking off today with this week’s releases, as the first names cut from WWE in 2022 has been announced.
Scott Armstrong, who served as a referee and producer for the company was one of the names let go
but this decision may have been down to one match, rather than his actions behind the scenes.
According to Fightful Select, Armstrong took the blame for some awkward referee spots in the RAW
Women’s Title match at Day 1, which saw Becky Lynch retain her championship against Liv Morgan.
Though we can’t say this was the sole reason he was let go, it certainly didn’t help Armstrong, who
was released alongside his brother Road Dogg Jesse James.
A silver lining for Armstrong is that in their report, Fightful noted that one company has shown
interest in signing him as a wrestler, and it’s worth mentioning that Scott comes from a wrestling
family, and his father wrestled into his late-70s.
Time will tell whether Armstrong gets to wrestle for as long as his father did, but any chances of him
doing anything in WWE are now a thing of the past.
Another name who left WWE recently is Scotty 2 Hotty, who was released in November 2021 from
his role as a Performance Center coach, but unlike others, he requested to be let go.
Although Scotty enjoyed training people over his five-year run, he has admitted that the mass
releases took a toll on him, and in an interview with Chris Van Vliet, said that he felt underutilised in
the company, especially by the Chairman:
They gave me a platform to make a name and to do what I am going to do now, and I am thankful
for that. I just don't know if the thought was reciprocated; I don't even know if Vince McMahon knew
I worked there. I was on the contract for five years, and they never did anything with me
Since being granted his requested release, Scotty has hit the ground running, and has already made
an in-ring return, competing at GC4 Die 4 This on January 1st.
With decades of experience, Scotty will be an asset wherever he goes, but after a turmultous five
years, his time with WWE is over, not that the Chairman will apparently notice.
In late 2017, then-Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was heading into Survivor Series, to face WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.
Mere days before the show however, AJ Styles captured the WWE title from Mahal,
in a bizzarre move that happened on a random episode of SmackDown.
Fans never got to see the pre- announced Lesnar-Mahal match, and during Wrestling Observer Radio
this week, Dave Meltzer explained why saying:
“You know why they did that? Because Brock did not want to work with him [Jinder Mahal].”
Meltzer didn’t explain why Lesnar refused to work with the Modern Day Maharaja, who has never
returned to the main event picture after this title loss.
Instead, fans got a fantastic match between Lesnar and Styles, and it was the Beast who would ultimately
emerge supreme, but perhaps things would’ve been much different had he not hindered Jinder Mahal.
More release news now, as William Regal was released from his contract in NXT 2.0, after over two decades working in WWE.
A close personal friend of Triple H and on-screen General Manager, Regal also worked behind the
scenes of NXT, up until a recent decision cost him his job.
During Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alverez said that Regal had nothing to do in NXT anymore, as
there were no plans to have him appear on TV.
In addition to this, Regal was no longer being sent to scout indie talent at PWG shows, as WWE has
made it clear that they’re not interested in signing independent performers for the time being,
instead focussing on signing athletes they can mould in their own style.
With no plans for Regal on TV, and no plans for him to work off TV, WWE realised they didn’t want
to pay him to do essentially nothing, and the decision was made to let him go.
A former Intercontinental Champion and King of the Ring who’s been wrestling since his teens, Regal
has decades of invaluable experience that would benefit any company, but now WWE has decided
that they are better off without the British wrestling legend.
If releasing waves of talent is WWE’s most controversial decision in recent years, then their
relationship with Saudi Arabia is a close second, but that hasn’t stopped the company from making
regular appearances in the middle-eastern nation.
After a lengthy hiatus, WWE returned to Saudi Arabia for last year’s Crown Jewel, and we now have
an idea for when the company will return.
Fightful Select reports that WWE is looking at February 19th for the day of their next Saudi show,
which has been marked for some kind of event in WWE’s internal calendar.
February 19th is also a Saturday, which falls in line with the company’s new plans to host Premium
Live Events on Saturdays instead of Sundays, and allows talent a day of traveling and recovery before
RAW the following Monday.
At this time, this expect Saudi show hasn’t been confirmed by WWE, and no matches have even
been hinted at, never mind confirmed.
Typically, WWE will use a mix of top stars and legends at these events, and it seems we won’t have
to wait long before we learn who’s making the long trip to the middle East.
Perhaps WALTER could make his Saudi debut next month, as the longest -reigning NXT United
Kingdom Champion is set to leave NXT UK.
In an announcement, it was revealed that next week’s edition of NXT UK will be his final appearance
on the show, with the event being billed as “WALTER’s last stand.”
The Imperium leader will take on Nathan Frazer in his farewell match, and it’s believed that he’ll
soon be moving to the United States permanently to have a run on the main roster.
After signing with WWE, WALTER made it clear that he would not leave Europe, at the request of his
then-wife, but now that the pair have separated, the Austrian behemoth is much more open to the move.
As for whether WALTER will be heading to RAW, SmackDown or NXT 2.0 is unclear at this time, but
with the 2022 Royal Rumble just over three weeks away, the former NXT United Kingdom Champion
could make an emphatic debut later this month.
Now, Road Dogg Brian James was one of the many names close to Triple H to be released from WWE
this week, but the former wrestler/ producer hasn’t wasted time in looking for work elsewhere.
On Twitter, a fan asked James, now that he’s released, if a reunion with Billy Gunn could be in the
works, saying that Road Dogg could be a useful asset in AEW as a backstage producer.
Responding, James teased a move to AEW, saying that his light bill isn’t going to pay for itself.
In a separate tweet, James also made it clear that the account responding is the real him, saying that
after losing his job at WWE, he also lost his verified status on Twitter.
Verified or not, James moving to AEW makes a lot of sense, as he and Billy Gunn could reform the
New Age Outlaws, though we imagine WWE owns that name.
Whatever they call themselves, a reunion of one of wrestling’s most celebrated teams would be
good for business in AEW, and we imagine Tony Khan is weighing up the idea at this time.
And we’re ending with Sarah Schreiber, who has announced that she is engaged to be married.
On Instagram, the WWE correspondent shared the joyous news alongside a photo of her kissing her fiancé Chad Dunbar.
Schreiber also shared a photo of the happy couple with their puppy, and in their response, the
official WWE Twitter account sent their congrats to Sarah, Chad, and this very good dog.
Joining WWE in 2018 after a lengthy tenure as an actor, Schreiber can be seen each week on
SmackDown, and we’d like to send our congratulations to the happy couple at this time.