Here's more wrestling news for April 12th 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
"Theory" Has A New Name And A Big Opportunity Ahead?
Brandi Rhodes Seemingly Teases WWE Comeback!
When Did Cody Rhodes Start Having Interest To Return To WWE ?
More Light On MVP's Change In Alliances!
Is Tony Khan Still Pre-Approving All Of Max Caster’s Entrance Raps?
The Undertaker Hopes Bray Wyatt Comes Back Home To WWE?
Cody Rhodes Uses Banned Word On WWE RAW; Is Quickly Shut Down By The Miz!
Nash Carter’s WWE Firing Not Well Received Backstage By Talent!
WWE Given Huge Props For Repackaging Lacey Evans!
Sarah Logan Booked For Multiple Appearances With Control Your Narrative Company! And More!
We’re starting today with Austin Theory, who like many Superstars, has undergone a name change.
On RAW, Theory told Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce that he’ll now be going by just Theory, saying that it was a decision by Mr. McMahon.
This name change isn’t the least bit surprising given McMahon’s love to shorten names of Superstars, and it makes sense that the Chairman of WWE doesn’t want to be reminded of a certain
Texas Rattlesnake, especially after WrestleMania 38.
Theory was told that he’ll receive a United States title opportunity against Finn Balor, and given how Balor has been handled since winning the title, fans can expect a title change.
Theory’s name change may seem odd, but this segment showed that his programme with Mr McMahon will continue, and that he remains a focus for WWE’s creative team.
It seems as though WWE want to get the U.S. title on Theory as soon as possible, and that will likely be next week.
When Cody Rhodes left AEW in February, he did so alongside his wife Brandi, and while only Cody has returned to WWE so far, it seems his wife could soon be appearing as well.
During this week’s match between Cody and The Miz, Brandi tweeted an ominous “you never know…” in what many saw as a teased mixed-tag match which would see the Rhodes’ face
Miz and Maryse. It’s been reported that Brandi had some “productive conversations” with several influential names
backstage at WrestleMania, so while she may not have wrestled during her first run in WWE, don’t count her out if she does re-sign with Company
Brandi was backstage with her husband at WrestleMania 38, where Cody got arguably the biggest pop in his entire wrestling career.
As soon as Rhodes left AEW in February there was speculation of a WWE return, but Rhodes has already been considering a return before then.
Speaking in a media scrum, Rhodes said he had been considering a return since January's Royal Rumble, but was not optimistic ahead of his first meeting with Vince McMahon.
"I didn’t expect the meeting to go bad but I thought, oh, I’ll be presented something that is not for me but I’ll be able to say hank you so much and I’ll be able to get closure."
Rhodes added that the meeting with WWE's CEO went incre dibly well, as McMahon spent much of the conversation discussing how much Cody had grown as well as his young
daughter. Cody went on to say that when he was given an offer to stay in AEW by Tony Khan, he couldn't help
but turn him down, and time will tell if the American Nightmare's long-envisoned dream to become WWE Champion finally comes true.
Back to Raw, as Bobby Lashley came out early to confront MVP and Omos regarding the former’s betrayal last week, with Omos being the special guest on the VIP lounge.
As you’d expect, Lashley did not waste time trying to get revenge on MVP and Omos, and ther tense confrontation saw Lashley trash all the props in the ring.
As for MVP, he gave clarity on his alliance with Omos, saying that the latter indeed needs guidance, and Lashley certainly doesn't.
With MVP on his side, WWE is throwing all they can to make Omos their next top big man in the company, so expect him to pick up a win over the All Mighty soon.
Raw also saw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair get her first challenger, and despite what fans had thought, it wasn’t Becky Lynch.
During the show, Sonya Deville promised to find a suitable opponent for the EST, only to blindside the champ and sign her own name on the contract.
Deville has been an authority figure in WWE since January 2021, but her getting back in the title picture may mark the end of her 15 month stint as an authority figure.
As far as Becky Lynch is concerned, it appears that the Man is taking a break from TV for the time being, and after it’ll be interesting to see how Deville does in her first championship
opportunity in a very long time.
Over to AEW now as Max Caster loves to freestyle before The Acclaimed’s matches, but that hasn’t always gone well for the team.
In August 2021, Caster was suspended after his rap in which he mocked the mental health of Olympian Simone Biles and the Duke University false accusation controversy.
Caster has since returned to AEW programming and his raps are still hot, but they’re not as controversial as they were anymore.
During a recent appearance on the Rob Brown Show, Tony Schiavone said that Tony Khan himself personally approves every rap Caster delivers before the show.
Schiavone also spoke about MJF, saying that this same restriction doesn’t apply to the Salt of the Earth who “concerns” Schiavone with some of the things he gets to say.
Both Caster and MJF are considered two of the best on the microphone in AEW, and while the Acclaimed star is still delivering sick burns during his performances, these barbs
have to get Khan’s seal of approval first.
In July last year, WWE released Bray Wyatt in a move that had fans shocked by the company’s decision.
Wyatt had been one of, if not the most consistently over acts of the past two years, with many calling the Fiend this generation’s version of The Undertaker.
Although Wyatt and the Phenom did feud, this was long before Bray’s transformation into the Fiend, which Undertaker hopes to see back one day.
Speaking about the former Universal Champion, Undertaker said:
”Bray Wyatt, I hope things get worked out with him somewhere because he is a phenomenal talent. And, I think he has a lot to offer to this industry. Hopefully, at some point, he comes home.’
Wyatt’s last match with WWE was over a year ago, where he lost to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37 following a distraction by Alexa Bliss.
Since leaving, Wyatt has kept clear from the ring, instead focussing on a movie project with Jason Baker, and while he has said he will wrestle again, it remains to be seen whether a match in WWE
could still happen.
Back to Raw, which saw The Miz open up the show with an edition of Miz TV with Cody Rhodes as his special guest.
The two are both great talkers, but there was some controversy over the words that Rhodes used, which are banned in WWE.
Entering the show as fans sang along to his theme ‘Kingdom’ Miz cracked a joke about the ridiculous amount of pyro used in Cody’s entrance.
Speaking about his plans, The American Nightmare stated that he needed to get his hands on the world championship "belt" and compete against the best wrestlers, though Miz quickly
corrected him, saying it is a Superstars.
Belt is a banned word in WWE, and Miz said that belts are what are used to hold up pants.
There was a similar infraction when Cody spoke about facing the best wrestlers, with Miz saying how they are Superstars in WWE.
Vince McMahon has a long list of words that are banned, including kill, stab, murder, and yes, even wrestling is banned, and Rhodes may want to revise these terms before his next
appearance on WWE programming.
Last week, WWE released Nash Carter from his contract with NXT, after a series of accsuations from his wife and a photo of him impersonating Adolf Hitler.
Carter was released despite being an NXT Tag Team Champion at the time, and we have more information on how WWE’s decision has been received.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that the WWE locker room is up in arms about WWE’s decision, with the general consensus that Carter was well-liked and professional to all he
came across.
Meltzer said that the Hitler photo is what ultimately cost Nash his WWE career, and he took the photo at 19 years old.
WWE were apparently aware of the photograph before it came to light, but seemed to be okay with the dumb decision the then- teenage Carter had made, as long as it didn’t get into the public eye.
As for the accusation of being physically violent against his wife, Meltzer said that some have claimed WWE knew about this long before last week, and whatever the truth may be,
it was the PR nightmare of one of their Superstars impersonating the Nazi leader that cost Nash Carter his job.
And we’re ending today with Lacey Evans who made her return on last Friday’s SmackDown, albeit in a vignette.
In her promo, Evans was a babyface and had ditched her Sassy Southern Belle character, and instead focussed on her real-life story in the Marines and growing up with a single mother.
Speaking on the Busted Open podcast Bully Ray had nothing but praise for WWE’s decision to repackage Evans, saying that WWE tried too hard to make fans hate someone, who
by all accounts should be liked and respected. A working mother who served her country in the Marines, it’s hard for anyone to not be on board
with Evans, and Bully Ray added that this is what he wanted to see from the beginning. Before her pregnancy in early 2021, it was reported that Evans
as on the cusp of dethroning then-RAW Women’s Champion Asuka, and while that obviously didn’t happen, perhaps this new character will be the one that earns Lacey Evans some c
some championship gold.