00:00Anger over more top WWE firings, a big AEW problem, a Bloodline Family member health
00:06update and more.
00:08I'm Oli Davis, and this is the WrestleTalk News!
00:182024 has shown just how effective positive momentum can be for WWE.
00:23Up until a year ago, whenever the company released anyone, there would be breaking news
00:27live streams, social media outrage and excitement over when, and how, AEW would pick them up.
00:34Now this year, with news WWE has parted ways with a 34th person, the general reaction is
00:40yeah, well maybe that makes sense with a TKO merger.
00:43While there have been a number of talent releases in 2024, with names like Jinder Mahal, Jerry
00:48Lawler, Cameron Grimes and Xia Li being let go, the bulk have been back office corporate
00:53members of staff.
00:54This is a usual consequence of business business business mergers.
00:57With WWE and the UFC now being one company, they don't need to double up on having their
01:02own departments like sales and graphic design.
01:05Although TKO did say there wouldn't be any more releases last year, and with TKO technically
01:09being a brand new entity, it doesn't have the loyalty to long term members of staff.
01:15This has seen WWE fire such beloved workers as Sue Atchinson, who had been with the company
01:20since 1986 and was behind their relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and long time
01:25executive John Porco, most recently the Senior Vice President of Live Events Marketing, who
01:30had joined in 1999.
01:32PWInsider has now reported another name has left the company.
01:36WWE Vice President of International Events and General Manager of Emerging Markets, Michael
01:41Levin.
01:42Levin has worked for WWE for over seven years in the London office, and his position has
01:46been reportedly phased out during the merger.
01:49But in confirming Levin's departure, Fightful added a more surprising release.
01:54Senior Director of TV Event Relations Steve Rubin, who had been with WWE for 26 years, first
02:02starting out as a production assistant and working his way up through the company.
02:07The Wrestling Observer have added that Rubin was very popular behind the scenes in WWE,
02:12and many have complained privately about his release, and one person has taken it online.
02:18No stranger to public rants, Ric Flair has posted on X with the first letter of every word capitalised,
02:26this is the worst professional move I've ever seen in my entire life, makes me think
02:31he's critiquing a wrestling match, to let go of a man who was so generous and good, who
02:36accommodated everyone including me and my family and my world of friends.
02:42God bless you Steve Rubin, I'm so sorry.
02:46One of the other corporate names released by WWE this year was Dan Ventrell, but according
02:50to Fightful that wasn't just because of the merger.
02:53It was because he didn't properly communicate with a lot of talent who have contracts expiring
02:58soon.
02:59Which is why one of WWE's biggest stars and a current champion could just walk out of
03:04the company in a couple of weeks.
03:13Fightful is reporting that current Women's World Champion Becky Lynch has approximately
03:17three weeks left on her WWE contract, and hasn't yet signed a new one.
03:23Both sides have been in talks, but the terms haven't yet been agreed.
03:26It shows how different the company is now compared to under Vince McMahon.
03:29I'm not sure Vince would have ever put a title on a wrestler a month out from their
03:34contract expiring.
03:35In fact, he would have probably used that to get them to re-sign a new deal first, then
03:39buried them once they had.
03:40Yet Levesque booked Lynch to win the vacated title due to Rhea Ripley's sudden injury, giving
03:45Becky way more leverage in any future negotiations.
03:50Even when, you could have had just Liv Morgan win it, whose contract isn't imminently up.
03:55It's still widely expected Becky will agree a new deal with WWE, just like the other big
04:00names who had their contracts running out this year have.
04:03Like Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre and Becky's real life husband Seth Rollins.
04:07I'm just presuming it will now be for loads more money.
04:11Unless, much like the back office staff, TKO decides they don't need wrestling people anymore.
04:16They've got a whole UFC right there.
04:18The benefits of the TKO merger weren't just in consolidating service departments of
04:22the company.
04:23There was also much potential for onscreen business synergy.
04:26Like UFC fighters appearing in a WWE ring, or maybe even WWE wrestlers getting in the octagon.
04:34One more fight.
04:35One more fight.
04:36No, not that kind of fight.
04:38With news that UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis is in talks with WWE, and him running out
04:42of the cage to hug Randy Orton from out of nowhere after his fight night win on Saturday,
04:47UFC President Dana White has said, listen, some of the fighters who fight here have always
04:52dreamed about doing a WWE match or whatever it is, and I don't have a problem with that.
04:57I didn't have a problem with that when Vince was consistently f***ing with me for no reason,
05:01and now that that's not the case anymore, I obviously would absolutely do it.
05:06Interestingly, that's not the only synergy White proposed.
05:10Dana noted the plan moving forward is to host entire TKO weekends, with powerslap on Friday
05:16still a thing apparently, UFC on a Saturday, and a WWE show on a Sunday, all presumably
05:23in the same venue.
05:24Currently, every WWE premium live event announced for this year, up until September's Bash
05:29at Berlin is taking place on a Saturday night.
05:33Perhaps after that date, which would follow TKO's first birthday, WWE PLEs could be moving
05:39back to Sundays.
05:40Which was the tradition until Nick Khan joined the company in 2019.
05:44What that means for Friday's Smackdown, which is when powerslap would take place, remains
05:48to be seen.
05:49Perhaps it's a sign that'll be moving days of the week once it comes off Fox long term.
05:54Now here's a message from powerslap's next big signee, Turbo Jack.
06:22And if you bear enough, you get a shout out from the greatest status wrestler ever to
06:27walk god's green earth!
06:28Oh god, I miss my wife.
06:30So thank you the hundred dollar man, C.D. Horvour, Baldin' Brummie, Bratlin' Thoth,
06:35Pig Jiggy, Josh Martin, Double L, Liam Leonard, The Pin, Hickle of Success, Luke Kelly,
06:41The Mapman, Matthew Allen, Abominable Michael Abbott, King of the Conquest, Steven Mullinex,
06:46Pay for the Course, Sargeath, and where there's Will, there's Will Campbell.
06:51Go to Patreon.com forward slash WrestleTalk to get your own shout out for loads of exclusive
06:58videos.
06:59The King and Queen of the Ring show in Saudi Arabia will take place on the 25th of May.
07:04Make sure to subscribe right here on WrestleTalk, where me, Luke and more will be doing live
07:08reactions.
07:09And there's been several more live show results over the weekend in the tournament.
07:13At WWE's house shows on Saturday and Sunday, LA Knight beat Santos Escobar, Tiffany Stratton
07:19beat Mitchum, Kofi Kingston beat Rey Mysterio, and Shayna Baszler beat Maxine Dupree.
07:24Dupree had to replace Zelina Vega as the tournament curse continued, making Vega the fourth person
07:30not to be medically cleared for the first round.
07:32There's two weeks and still eight wrestlers in each tournament to work around if any more
07:36injuries do happen.
07:38AEW, however, don't have that much wriggle room.
07:42The main event of Wednesday's Dynamite was to reveal the two surprise Team AEW members
07:46to join FTR going against the Elites Jack Perry, Kazuchika Okada and the Young Bucks at Double
07:52or Nothing's Anarchy in the Arena.
07:54Unfortunately, one of them, just four days later, might end up having to be pulled from
07:59that match.
08:00Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson were the two wrestlers revealed, so of course, at least
08:04one of them would have a hard hitting New Japan match in between that and one of AEW's
08:08biggest shows of the year.
08:10Kingston wrestled Gabe Kidd in a no rope, last man standing match at New Japan's Resurgence
08:14show on Saturday.
08:16Kidd won the match, along with Eddie's last remaining Continental Classic title for New
08:20Japan's strong openweight belt.
08:22The match's finish show saw Kidd suplex Kingston off the apron through a table outside, but Eddie's
08:28leg crashed hard on the guard rail.
08:30He wasn't able to get up for a long time, but was heard by members of the crowd saying
08:34he thought he could make it back into the ring.
08:37This was for the final angle, which saw Jack Perry and the Bucks invade New Japan and hit
08:41Eddie with a BTE trigger.
08:44The Wrestling Observer writes there is still no update on Kingston's condition, and the
08:48only thing they've heard is that people are crossing their fingers and are hoping he's
08:52okay.
08:53Hopefully this is all an elaborate work and Kingston is fine, but there is an unfortunate possibility
08:58that Eddie was injured, but just managed to do the angle, which could help write him off
09:02Double or Nothing if needed.
09:05In a positive health update, Atha Anawaii has been discharged from hospital after suffering
09:10two heart attacks.
09:11Atha is one half of the legendary Wild Samoans tag team, and the uncle of Roman Reigns Rikishi,
09:17and loads more.
09:18Check out our Bloodline Family Tree Explained video by clicking the link in the video description
09:22below for the full, highly confusing breakdown.
09:25He currently runs WXW Wrestling, not the German one, which gave this update on Facebook.
09:30On Thursday, our beloved patriarch Atha, the Wild Samoan, had a successful TAVR procedure
09:36to replace his aortic valve.
09:38Yesterday afternoon, he was discharged from the hospital.
09:41We're all so grateful that this final hurdle has been passed.
09:44Now he has more back rehabilitation to do, but our Pops kicked out again and is one of the
09:49strongest human beings in the world.
09:52Thank you all for your prayers and concern.
09:54Now go watch Luke, Pete and I try to predict every entrant in the Men's Royal Rumble match.
09:59Way too far in advance.
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