Following on the heels of a big PPV weekend WWE said a few “Goodbyes” this week.
A young star gets fired, a legend passes, and another big name goes under the knife. Details on all 3 as well as fresh plans for some summer shows are what we have on deck this week.
Big Cass Released
As we reported earlier in the week, WWE announced the release of Big Cass just days after his loss to Daniel Bryan at Money in the Bank. Given his look and size, not to mention the massive popularity he enjoyed while working with Enzo Amore, many people expected Cass to be a much bigger success. Unfortunately his run as a solo competitor just never really took off, and according to most of the reports I’ve seen it was a string of backstage attitude issues which ultimately led to his downfall with the company. At another time he might have been given more time to find his way, but the current roster is so stacked with stars that there’s really no need to tolerate behavior issues from midcard workers. Cass is still only in his 20s though, so perhaps he’ll spend some time maturing on the indies and return much more prepared for stardom the way Drew McIntyre recently has.
RIP Big Van Vader
The saddest news of the week is that the wrestling world lost another of its legendary stars too soon. Leon White was only 63 when he finally succumbed to ongoing health issues this week. Although WWE never quite capitalized on his abilities as well as other companies around the world, he is remembered as on of the best “big men” to ever step in the ring. Seeing a man of his size pulling off moonsaults 20 plus years ago helped pave the way for the many of the larger competitors we cheer on today for being far more agile than their physiques might initially suggest. Additionally, though I never met the man personally, I’ve heard from many people regarding what a good man he was outside of the ring. Condolences go out to his friends and family from all of us here at the Scrum.
Sami Zayn Out
Sami Zayn will unfortunately not be seen for a while as he requires surgery on BOTH shoulders. According to what I’ve heard, he’s been working hurt for a while and it finally caught up with him. Surgery will happen on one of the shoulders within the next week with the other shoulder going under the knife in about a month or two. Zayn will definitely be out for the remainder of 2018 but hopes to return in time for next year’s Wrestlemania season. Hopefully this will give the writers time to come up with better stories for him than the terrible feud he just concluded with Bobby Lashley.
UK Tournament
Stars of both the NXT and UK divisions spent this past Monday and Tuesday filming at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Spoilers are available for those interested in such things, but if you’d rather see it all play out on the Network you’ll be able to see the action from both tapings on Monday and Tuesday June 25 and 26. Both episodes are scheduled to go live at 3pm EST each day providing a nice appetizer prior to WWE’s regular primetime shows.
Mae Young Classic 2
It was finally announced that this year’s installment of the Mae Young Classic will be going down at Full Sail August 8 and 9. No word yet on the broadcast schedule, but we’ll have those updates as well as confirmed participants here as they become available.
WWE Japan?
It seems WWE may be forming a working relationship with Japanese wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. Details are scarce at this point, but 205 Live star Hideo Itami is currently scheduled for a Noah show on August 29th to kick off whatever this new arrangement may be. Prior to coming over to join NXT, Itami (then known as Kenta) had risen to fame as Noah’s heavyweight champion, so it makes sense to send him “home” as a representative of this new cross-promotional deal. Might the WWE be taking their 1st steps towards establishing another division the way the did in the UK or is this just another outlet for the recruitment of rising talent such as the relationship they have Evolve in the US and Progress in the UK? Only time will tell, but this is an exciting time to be a fan of international professional wrestling.
Rusev gets his Day!
Rusev was the last man standing in a gauntlet match on Smackdown Live this week and will go on to face AJ Styles for the World Title at the July PPV. Could this finally be the Bulgarian Brute’s day to shine or he just keeping Styles busy until Summerslam? We won’t know the answer to that until July 15th, but we’ll have more news on the Extreme Rules card as it’s announced.
