WWE Nixes Plans for Rusev’s Return

Plans for Rusev to return to WWE programming and go after the WWE Title have changed.

As seen on SmackDown Live a couple weeks back, WWE aired footage of Rusev saying he wanted a shot at the WWE Title at the Money in the Bank event. Rusev said he would be returning to SmackDown Live to confront Shane, which never happened and WWE hasn’t played up to that storyline at all on any of their programming.

With WWE announcing Randy Orton’s rematch for the WWE Title at the Money in the Bank event on SmackDown Live this week, it is now evident that plans have changed for Rusev and he will not be going after the Title on that show. We will keep you updated if we hear anything new regarding his return.

Chris Jericho Says It’ll Be A Long Time Before He Returns to WWE

While speaking with AP News, Chris Jericho talked about his future with WWE and revealed that it will be a long time before he returns to WWE.

“WWE, it’s the brand name. I’m just a cog. An important part of it, people like it. But this is our band. People are here to see us. That to me, is a little more of a rush. It’s not under the auspices of another name. It’ll be a long time before I go back,” he said. “If I ever do go back, if I never go back, it’s fine. If I never wrestle another match, it wouldn’t bother me.”

It’s very interesting that Jericho questioned if he would be returning to WWE as he is being advertised for the upcoming WWE Live Event on June 30th and July 1st in Tokyo, Japan at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Backstage Update on Emma’s WWE Return

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Emma is expected to be cleared to return to action in June.

As previously noted, Emma suffered a shoulder injury at a WWE Live Event on May 7th in Liverpool, England while she was teaming with Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax to take on the team of Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Mickie James. Emma took a bad landing on her right shoulder after a double knee drop from Sasha on the turnbuckle. The match was stopped early as a result to the injury.

WWE NXT Spoilers – May 31st – June 21st, 2017

WWE will tape the May 31st to June 21st episodes of NXT at Full Sail University tonight. Here are the results from the show:

* Dark match: Jeet Rama defeats Chris Silvio.

May 31st

* Tyler Bate defeats Steve Cutler.

* Ciampa comes out on crutches. The crowd is chanting, “Why Ciampa, why?” Ciampa invites Gargano out to the ring because he feels he owes him an explanation. Thursday before Takeover Ciampa sustained an injury, it didn’t matter, he was still going to fight. But the people were thinking up dream partners for Gargano, it took 24 hours for Ciampa to become an afterthought to the fans. When Ciampa realized they lost he knew he was injured & going away for a long time, when he looked across at John it became clear. That if Ciampa went away Gargano would replace him, Ciampa won’t become an afterthought, and in that moment he made his choice. It is the fans fault and it is Gargano’s fault that DIY is done, if Ciampa has to go away then Gargano had to go away too. Takeover: Chicago was supposed to be DIY’s moment, but it ended up being Ciampa’s moment. Ciampa is irreplaceable, Gargano is irreplaceable, the fans are replaceable. When Ciampa returns he will be the most dangerous man in professional wrestling and everyone is on notice.

* Pete Dunne defeats Danny Burch. After the match Dunne cuts a promo. He says since January he had to watch some boy carry what was rightfully his. History will remember that WWE UK began with the crowning of “The Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne.

* Cezar Bononi defeats Cien Almas with a small package.

* Kassius Ohno & Roderick Strong vs. Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe. No Way Jose made his return to assist Ohno & Strong in beating Sanity.

* Dana Warrior is here to honor a local Orlando teacher for her charity work. “Thank You, Ruby” chants.

205 Live Continues to Perform Poorly

205 Live continues to perform poorly on the WWE Network.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the show failed to rank in the top 20 shows on the Network this week. The show actually ranked behind a three-month old episode of Ride Along. Halloween Havoc back in 1998 got more views than 205 Live did.

This isn’t a first time occurrence either, as the show rarely ranks in the top 10 despite airing live on the WWE Network and being built up on RAW the previous night.

X-Pac 1, 2, 360 Recap – Backlash Analysis, Dunne & Bate Steal Takeover, Nakamura’s In-ring Debut, More!

X-Pac discusses his comments from this past week, when he informed that Val Venis almost became a member of DX at one point. He also informs that Test was very close to becoming a member of the group as well, but that didn’t happen either.

He says that when you have a successful group such as nWo, DX or the Bullet Club, you have to be very careful as to who you add to the group so as to not interfere with the chemistry of the other members. However, if the creative team suggests a new member and the other members don’t agree, they have to be able to articulate a good reason as to why the other talent shouldn’t be brought into the group.

X-Pac comments on the ongoing issues between The Hardys and IMPACT wrestling. He says that WWE might be interested in the ‘Broken Universe’, but there’s no reason for them to get involved legally if The Hardys are already pursuing legal action against IMPACT. X-Pac admits that if Vince McMahon really wants to use that gimmick, he might just get fed up and pay IMPACT for it, especially if it’s cheap.

Jinder Mahal Claims He’s Been Tested Multiple Times & Never Had an Issue

While speaking to The Times of India, Jinder Mahal made the following remarks about fans being critical of his recent physique transformation.

“I don’t know what kind of criticism that was. I worked hard in the gym a lot. All the WWE talents are drug tested by a third-party agency and I have been tested multiple times and never had an issue, so you know my transformation is all diet, all hard work. I am a tested athlete like every other WWE wrestler. I have no special privilege; nothing like that. I look like an athlete, I perform like an athlete, I carry myself like an athlete and WWE was not hesitant to put me in a WWE title match.”

Click here for the full interview.

Asuka Surpasses Goldberg’s Undefeated Streak

Asuka has surpassed Goldberg’s WCW undefeated streak of 173 wins. She made the following remarks about the accomplishment on Twitter:

Goldberg responded with the following:

Adam Cole’s WWE Status

While Adam Cole may possibly be joining WWE, he is currently a free agent and hasn’t signed a deal yet with the company. The feeling is that he will eventually end up in NXT as one of the top stars for the brand unless something changes.

It’s also worth noting that Impact Wrestling is also interested in trying to sign Cole. We will keep you updated on his status when we find more information out.