Here's your wrestling news for October 29th 2021
And your headlines for today include
Bray Wyatt free from non-compete clause! Looking for work outside of wrestling
“It was like trying to catch a freight train!” Adnan Virk explains biggest issue with RAW commentary role
Jim Ross announces he’s working on new cannabis farm in Oklahoma
Former WWE ring announcer has try out with AEW this week
“Just a bunch of nerds and losers!” American Top Team member explains why she’ll never come back to AEW
Ring of Honor’s tape library goes on sale. Why do WWE and AEW both want the footage?
CJ Perry reveals shocking transformation ahead of latest movie project And more!
We’re kicking off today with Bray Wyatt, and as after being released by WWE during the Summer, a decision that was loathed by the fans, the former
Universal Champion’s non-compete clause ends today. Now, Wyatt is free to work and sign with any
wrestling promotion, but the former Fiend is looking for a much bigger screen in order to entertain the fans.
According to Fightful Select, Wyatt is out in Hollywood, and has been fielding inquiries about projects right now, and was also seen
taking in a Clippers game at the Staples Center. Wyatt won’t be playing for LA’s Basketball team, but he was seen at the shop of Jason
Baker, the man who co-created the Fiend mask alongside horror effects legend Tom Savini. It’s been reported that Wyatt and Impact Wrestling
weren’t able to come to a deal in their latest negotiations, as it remains to be seen which company he signs with.
Being in Hollywood this week isn’t the first time Wyatt has shown an interest in acting, as he wanted to get a film made before his WWE
departure this year, and if successful, fans may be waiting even longer before they see Bray back in the ring.
Fans are excited to see where Bray Wyatt goes next, but he won’t be called Bray Wyatt wherever he goes.
It’s been reported that the former Universal Champion will be going as Windham from now on, as WWE owns the Wyatt name, and now
Bray Wyatt is no more on social media. On Twitter, the former Fiend’s account has dropped all references to WWE and Bray Wyatt,
with his account now known as @Windham6. Post release, some Superstars have kept their WWE handles, so that they could keep their Twitter
Verification, which is exactly what Bryan Danielson did earlier, before changing to @bryandanielson.
As for where Windham goes, that’s still yet to be seen, but he won’t be called Bray Wyatt anymore on TV, or social media.
In April, WWE brought Adnan Virk on as a commentator for Monday Night RAW, and he failed to impress fans during his tenure.
Panned by the fans on a weekly basis, Virk left the role in late May, saying the grind and travelling was too much for him and his family,
and that his release was a mutual decision. Reports at the time suggested that Virk was going to be fired before he chose to leave,
and speaking with Peter Klein of Couch Potato D iary, the former commentator explained what went wrong for him, saying:
I loved wrestling as a kid but I didn’t watch as much as I got older… The biggest challenge for me is that, it’s hard to be really well-versed in the sport
when you’re trying to catch a freight train that’s already going 100 miles an hour. I’m running alongside the train trying to catch up. It’s hard to
make up for that gap in time. Virk may have watched wrestling as a kid, but it takes more than that to make it as a RAW
commentator, and by the time he ultimately chose to leave, fans were more than happy to see the back of Adnan Virk
Jim Ross was one of the few men who defended Virk, saying fans were too quick to judge him, which must’ve meant a lot coming from arguably the
greatest commentator of all time. JR’s commentary as of late hasn’t pleased fans, as he’s referred to Kenny Omega as the WWE
Dynamite, but the Oklahoma native has now started a new role outside of wrestling. On his Grilling JR Podcast, AEW’s play-by-play
man said he’s starting a cannibas farm, and will be working with his youngest daughter, her husband and a laywer.
With a working title of ‘Black Hat Farms,’ it’s worth noting that Cannabis is legal in state of Oklahoma for medical use with a license,
while CBD oil from industrial hemp Is legal without a license. Cannabis is still illegal for recreational use,
and after being diagnosed with skin cancer, perhaps a slobberknocker strain could help JR fight this terrible ailment.
Jim Ross has served with AEW’s commentary team for a long time now, but this week, a new name donned the headset at the commentary table.
In WWE, fans will remember Ricardo Rodriguez as the personal ring announcer for Alberto Del Rio, and very occasionally a wrestler, but he now
has a role with AEW. Mike Johnson of PW Insider reports that Rodriguez worked on the Spanish announce
team for both AEW Dynamite and the Rampage tapings in Boston, which was later confirmed by Ricardo himself, when he tweeted his
thanks to the Boston crowd. Since leaving WWE in 2014, Ricardo has worked the independent circuit, and has also worked as
trainer. In an update from Sportskeeda, it was said that Ricardo’s appearance this week was a tryout,
one that sources told them went very well, and things are looking positive. Rodriguez isn’t a part of the company just yet
but it may happen very soon after this tryout, and if nothing else, his appearance this week came as a huge surprise to the Spanish-speaking AEW fans
watching at home.
This week’s Dynamite also marked the show’s return to Wednesday nights, after spending the past few weeks on Saturdays.
Last Saturday’s show lost out to a replay of Friday Night SmackDown, and if AEW’s executives were hoping that the return to Wednesdays
would turn things around, then they’ve been disappointed. According to Showbuzz Daily, the return to
Wednesday’s Dynamite failed to break 1 million viewers, as the October 27th episode drew an average 910,000 viewers across the two hours.
That’s still a massive improvement on the 515,000 that last Saturday’s show did, but 910,000 is the company’s worst result on their normal
timeslot since the July 7th show. Earning a .40 in the 18-49 demographic, this is the lowest for Dynamite since October 6th,
and we’ll have to see how Tony Khan tries and turns things around after this disappointing return to Wednesday Nights.
More from AEW, as Kayla Harrison is a name many fans will be unfamiliar with, but they have seen her make an appearance in the All-Elite
promotion. Appearing once as a member of American Top Team, that lone appearance was more than
enough for the MMA star, who had harsh words for the AEW stars, and wrestling on a whole when she spoke to Jim Varsallone this week. She said
“It’s just a bunch of nerds and losers who couldn’t hack it in my sport so they decided to go and do a fake sport. I can’t believe I let Dan [Lambert] talk me
into it, it’s just boring… I have worked hard my whole life to get out of the trailer park, so why would I want to be the entertainment for the
trailer park?” Harrison, a former training partner of Ronda Rousey, won’t be returning to AEW, but Dan
Lambert has plenty of names in American Top Team, and has so far dominated the Inner Circle.
This week though, Sammy Guevara retained the TNT Champion against Men of the Year’s Ethan Page, giving the AEW original team a much-needed
win against Lambert and his crew. Post-match, Chris Jericho announced that a five on five tag team match will take place at
Full Gear, and though we’ll have to wait until November 13th to see which team wins on Pay Per View, we know that Kayla Harrison
won’t be a factor in any future AEW shows.
This week, Ring of Honor announced that they would be taking a break in early 2022, as they reimagine the company into a fan-focussed
product, hopefully in time for April’s Supercard of Honor event. This decision means that after December’s Final
Battle Pay Per View, all talents who’s contracts end this year will be released, and that’s not all that the company is saying goodbye to.
In an update from Sports Illustrated, Justin Barrasso notes that the ROH tape library is now available for purchase, and will go to the highest bidder.
This library would be a score for any company, as names from WWE, AEW and Impact have all once called Ring of Honor home.
Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk and reigning Impact World Champion Moose are just some of the names found in the
tape library, and it’s also known that ROH has been trying to sell the library for over a year now.
The problem with this is that Ring of Honor is reportedly asking for a lot of money, far more than the current market dictates.
WWE had a strong interest in acquiring the library at one point, and even discussed things with the company in 2017, and it’s possible
that WWE will pay the high price when they have so many former ROH stars on their roster. For AEW, the Ring of Honor tape library would give
them ALL IN, the 2018 event that was the precursor for AEW, and although Tony Khan owns the trademark for All In, ROH owns the
footage, at least for the time being. With Khan saying earlier this month that he’s in talks with Warner Media about starting an AEW
Network, having the footage for All In, and footage of some of their top names prior to joining AEW would be essential.
For Ring of Honor, there’s still little word on what they’re new fan-orientated vision for the company will be when they return next year, but if they
succeed in this latest venture, that fan-focussed show will have to go on without the library of shows from Ring of Honor’s past
Ring of Honor’s hiatus means that Danhausen will need to find a new company to work for, and there’s one place fans want to see him end up.
Not long after ROH confirmed their hiatus, Danhausen teased joining AEW, parodying the infamous gif of Cody Rhodes cupping his ear
and the fans are also wanting to see Danhausen be All-Elite. The support for Danhausen in AEW even led to his
name trending on Twitter, something Danhausen himself informed fans of with a tweet of his own
After gaining popularity earlier this year thanks to appearances on the podcasts of Conan O’Brien and Chris Jericho, Danhausen is now one of
wrestling’s hottest free agents, and even appeared on Jericho’s cruise last week. AEW isn’t the only option for Danhausen, as he’d
be a great fit in Impact Wrestling, but wherever the tooth collector goes next, fans are wanting to see plenty more of him after Ring of Honor.
And we’re ending today with CJ Perry, as the former Lana has undergone a radical change in looks.
On social media, the former WWE Superstar ditched her blonde hair in favour of dark brown, and asked fans to guess what her next audition
is for. Both before and during her time in WWE, Perry worked in several movie productions, and
its clear that being released earlier this year as part of the company’s cost-cutting measures hasn’t stopped Perry’s desire to perform,
which one day may end up with her joining her husband in AEW.