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00:42 Flippity-doo-dah, flippity-day, oh we love to see it!
00:46 I'm Oli Davis, this is the WrestleTalk News!
00:59 Over the Summer of 2022, the Summer of Hunter, if you will, Triple H rehired over 20 wrestlers
01:05 that have been released or parted ways with WWE since the start of the pandemic.
01:10 Dexter Lumis, Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Candice LeRae… but the rehiring spree halted
01:16 as soon as Vince McMahon forced himself back into the company in January.
01:20 Where Triple H presumably convinced Vince all those extra people on the main roster
01:24 were actually wrestlers Vince hadn't fired, they were just in new gimmicks.
01:28 No, no, that's not LA Knight, it's Stone Cold Steve Austin.
01:33 He came back, remember?
01:34 You even had a match with him.
01:36 Vince's return, and his mega deal with Endeavor to merge WWE with the UFC, has seemingly paused
01:42 Triple H hiring any more onscreen performers.
01:45 Former NWA Worlds Champion Nick Aldis has only so far been brought in as a backstage
01:50 producer, and Eric Young had his release granted before he could ever even return to TV.
01:55 But with the WWE/UFC merger into its new business, business, business super entity TKO Group
02:00 holdings set to be completed tomorrow 12th September, Triple H could finally be allowed
02:06 to bring in new talent.
02:07 Which is getting increasingly vital, with Raw and SmackDown putting on what feels to
02:10 be the same show every week since SummerSlam.
02:13 Along with PWInsider reporting the authors of Pain and Paul Ellering are already back
02:17 in WWE after being re-signed in 2022, with their onscreen return expected soon, former
02:23 WWE Women's Tag Team Champion in one of its better runs seriously even main evented
02:28 a main roster pay-per-view, and former NXT Women's Champion Kairi Sane also seems near
02:34 a comeback.
02:35 Kairi left WWE in December 2021 after her contract expired.
02:40 She returned to Japan and her former all-women's promotion Stardom, and would later become
02:44 New Japan's inaugural IWGP Women's Champion.
02:47 Over the weekend, Kairi announced at the Stardom Dream Tag Festival that her "final time"
02:53 will happen on the 9th October.
02:55 Dave Meltzer has added this will be one of her two remaining matches before her expected
02:59 return to WWE, with the other being for Gleet on the 20th September.
03:04 PWInsider have first reported back in August that Kairi would be returning to WWE with
03:09 November as the possible timeframe, apparently seeing the success of Io Sky, who's currently
03:15 the SmackDown Women's Champion, and feeling as though she'd be booked better with Triple
03:18 H now running creative.
03:47 Kairi isn't the only one potentially returning
04:15 to WWE, as while she's never said the big promotion's name, only that she's "finishing
04:20 up certain dates soon", Matt Cardona has out and out said WWE, Vince McMahon and how
04:26 he really needs to go back, in a recent Twitter post complaining about the indie wrestling
04:31 grind.
04:32 Cardona has reinvented himself on the indies as a totally different character from his
04:36 Zack Ryder persona in WWE, and part of the way he gets heat is by playing up the idea
04:41 he's way too big for indie wrestling, so this post could be a Worky McWorkface.
04:46 However, his wife Chelsea Green and many of his closest friends like Cody Rhodes and Dolph
04:50 Ziggler are all in WWE.
04:53 Cody himself has publicly said how he wants to bring Cardona in.
04:56 When asked about a return recently, Cardona said he wants it, but only if he's not just
05:00 another star on the roster.
05:02 We could maybe see another Triple H favourite returning early next year too, with former
05:06 IMPACT Women's Champion Diona Purrazzo set to become a free agent in 2024.
05:12 Surprise Women's Royal Rumble entrant confirmed.
05:14 Purrazzo was released by WWE back in 2020, but has since become one of the best women's
05:19 wrestlers in the business, leading the charge along with Jordan Grace to re-establish IMPACT's
05:23 Knockouts division.
05:24 Speaking of Grace, she has opted to re-sign with IMPACT for two years.
05:28 And of course, there's also a certain AEW name that's just become available for WWE
05:35 to swoop in and sign.
05:37 Sonny Kiss to WWE confirmed.
05:38 Kiss was removed from the AEW roster page day before the All Out pay-per-view, and Toni
05:43 Khan confirmed her contract had expired on the show's media scrum.
05:47 Now Sonny has released their own statement on the news.
05:49 "Four years of living my dream, traveling, making everlasting friendships, working with
05:54 my childhood heroes, growing into the human I've become right before everyone's eyes,
05:59 and of course, being part of some historical events with groundbreaking wrestling promotion
06:03 @AEW.
06:05 I have made quite a few mistakes along the way, but I also have learned some valuable
06:09 lessons too.
06:10 I am incredibly grateful for it all.
06:12 In December, I'll be 30 years old with 10 years of wrestling under my belt.
06:17 The fun part is, I haven't nearly touched the surface of what I am capable of.
06:21 Knew my journey in pro wrestling would not be an easy one regardless of my talents.
06:25 The best part of it all is that I showed people like me that anything is possible when you're
06:30 working your ass off for it.
06:31 It may not come easy, but it will come.
06:34 Sometimes you have to fall all the way down to reignite that fiery passion again.
06:38 So now what?
06:39 I'm the Concrete Rose Sonny Kiss, and I am a free agent.
06:44 I am so ready for this next chapter.
06:46 Let's continue to break those barriers down, shatter those glass ceilings, and make s***
06:51 happen.
06:52 Where to next?"
06:53, CM Punk to WWE confirmed!
07:14 I had to say it!
07:16 I feel better for saying it!
07:18 WWE held the Superstar Spectacle event in India over the weekend.
07:22 But after performing on the show, Matt Riddle has found himself in an investigation due
07:26 to an incident when he landed at JFK International Airport.
07:30 Initially, Riddle posted a since-deleted Instagram message alleging he was sexually assaulted
07:36 by an officer and harassed.
07:38 Riddle even posted a photo of the officer he was accusing.
07:41 Riddle then posted on Instagram "Finally leaving JFK and I never want to come back
07:45 here again."
07:46 It has since been reported by both TMZ and Ringside News that the Port Authority Police
07:51 Department had been called about a disorderly person who was getting off a plane, whom they
07:55 met in the terminal.
07:56 This person was reportedly Matt Riddle.
07:59 Apparently Riddle was apologetic to the police, and other witnesses were spoken to, but no
08:03 report was filed and everyone was free to leave.
08:06 Port Authority Police Department has launched an investigation regarding Riddle's claim
08:10 as they take such matters seriously.
08:13 Over in AEW, it seems Santana and Ortiz has reported backstage falling out, hasn't been
08:17 repaired with their reunion ahead of All In Stadium stampede match.
08:21 On Friday's episode of Rampage, Santana cut a promo saying he was "tired" of being
08:25 held down by his crutch, and declared he wants to go on a singles run.
08:29 And he took the crutch lying to be a dig at his former proud and powerful tag team partner
08:34 Ortiz.
08:36 Including Ortiz himself, who's replied on Twitter -
08:39 "What a way to find out years of having your back meant nothing.
08:42 Good luck without your crutch.
08:44 Just remember it helped you walk for the last 14+ years.
08:48 Hope your legs are good.
08:49 Thank you for being honest for once.
08:50 Bet you couldn't say it to my face.
08:52 You know you still can right?"
08:54 To which Santana replied "Wow.
08:56 First thing you said to me in 14 months.
08:58 No text, no call.
09:00 I hope your recovery has gone well.
09:01 But of course paint me to be the bad guy like you've always done.
09:05 Guess you forgot about our last conversation about this.
09:07 Either way, I'm happy, I hope and pray the same for you."
09:11 But don't worry!
09:12 Colin Danielson is here to save AEW and lead the charge into a new era of rating success
09:17 and backstage hum-oh, goddammit, he's transitioning to a part-time role.
09:21 On Saturday's episode of Collision, Danielson announced he will start winding down his career
09:26 when his 6-year-old daughter turns 7.
09:29 Multiple people have since confirmed to Sports Illustrated that Danielson will be stepping
09:33 away from wrestling full-time in the next year, yet may remain a special attraction
09:38 for AEW.
09:39 While that sounds scary, it's not actually that different to how Danielson has found
09:43 himself scheduled in his AEW run already.
09:46 Due to either time off or injury, his only storylines this year have been a two month
09:50 build against MJF at February's Revolution, the Anarchy in the Arena faction warfare at
09:54 Double or Nothing, fighting Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door, and his one night build
09:58 yet somehow match of the year contender strap match against Ricky Starks at All Out.
10:03 All in, he's only wrestled 11 times this year, over half of them in January and February.
10:09 But after over a year wait, we know his next match will be the Wrestling Purist's wrestling
10:13 dream fittingly at WrestleDream - fighting Zack Sabre Jr.
10:18 And when I say fighting, I mean contorting.
10:22 Contorting and getting in really weird loops.
10:26 Pretzel body fleshy loops.
10:29 Nice.
10:31 Now go watch me count down all the times wrestlers warned us about CM Punk.
