WWE has made some major changes this week. [Image credits: usanetwork.com & wwe.com]
In the latest edition of the WWE News and Rumor Roundup, we look at the fresh round of what was considered to be the Stamford-based promotion’s budget cuts, but the real reason behind the releases, as well as Drew McIntyre’s recent injury.
McIntyre’s contract has been the talk of the town over the past few months, so how will his injury affect his new deal?
Here are some of the biggest news and rumors from around the WWE world today.
#5. Booker T pushing for a comeback
Booker T has not wrestled for WWE since the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble Match and it seems that returning has allowed him to believe that he could still step back into the ring one more time.
The 59-year-old star recently expressed his desire to return to the ring on a recent episode of his Hall of Fame podcast.
“It’s hard to walk away from it. It really is. It’s so hard. I look at Matt and Jeff, Chris Jericho, Taker, The Rock sneaking into WrestleMania 40. That’s what the business is. We never really retire. Even myself, I’m thinking about having another match at Reality of Wrestling. I’ve been training. I’ve been getting myself together in the gym on a regular basis. I’m on the 30-day ab workout. I’m like, man, I can still do this. How are you gonna tell a man he can’t do it no more? You can’t do it,” Booker T said.
What the future has in store for the former World Heavyweight Champion remains to be seen.
#4. New WWE tag team revealed?
Rey Mysterio has been working alongside the Latino World Order over the past few months but it seems that he could be looking to work closely with Dragon Lee moving forward. Following his attack that forced him to miss out on WrestleMania XL, Lee shared the aforementioned update on X/Twitter, which has many fans wondering if this will be the tag team moving forward.
However, the question of who attacked Dragon Lee is yet to be answered.
#3. WWE releases several superstars including former World Champion
April has traditionally become the month when WWE decides to remove several stars from their roster since it is the end of the wrestling year after WrestleMania. Earlier in the week, there were several cuts to the backstage team as well as former NXT UK Assistant General Manager Sid Scala’s release.
As SmackDown aired on Friday night, it was revealed that Xia Li, former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, Veer Mahaan, Sanga, and Xyon Quinn had all been released from the Stamford-based company. Four of these stars had been wrestling on the main roster and had appeared earlier this year but none of them were part of WrestleMania XL weekend.
Recently, Cameron Grimes, who was promoted to the main roster as part of last year’s Draft also announced his release from WWE. Reports also stated that Von Wagner, a mainstay in NXT, was also released a few days ago.
#2. WWE releases were not budget-cut measures
While there was a belief that the recent WWE releases were for budget cut reasons, Fightful Select recently reported that this was not the case. Instead, it seems that the cuts were based on the fact that these stars had been part of the Stamford-based company for several years and the creative team had no plans for them as they were not featured regularly on TV.
Jinder Mahal’s last singles match in WWE came back on an episode of RAW in January 2024, while Xia Li did not wrestle in a singles match on RAW or SmackDown since November of last year.
#1. Drew McIntyre working while being injured
Drew McIntyre has been a part of WWE’s United Kingdom tour over the past week and according to a report from PWInsider, The Scottish Warrior suffered a hyperextended elbow back at WrestleMania XL, but has been able to continue working through the injury.
It seems that the former World Heavyweight Champion is set to continue working while being injured since he is still being advertised for the upcoming shows on the tour. McIntyre is one of the major stars hailing from the United Kingdom and has been wrestling Jey Uso as part of recent events.
