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Major Update on Brock Lesnar’s WWE & UFC Status

It was reported via Pro Wrestling Sheet yesterday that Brock Lesnar has made it clear to WWE officials that he won’t be re-singing with WWE after his contract expires shortly after WrestleMania next year. This doesn’t appear to be the case, according to the Wrestling Observer.

Dave Meltzer indicated on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio that reports of Lesnar leaving WWE once his contract expires to pursuit a career in the UFC are premature and he wouldn’t take these reports serious. Meltzer has a hard time believing that Brock would turn down “easy money” working for WWE at his current age of 40. The belief is that WWE is the better long-term option for Lesnar at his age.

In regards to UFC’s Jeff Novitsky shooting down reports that Brock Lesnar has not entered into the USADA drug testing pool, Meltzer said that he could enter the pool today and be ready to return for a fight early next year. Meltzer doesn’t believe that Lesnar will fighting for the UFC at the end of this year and also hinted that a fight early next year wouldn’t pan out well because of the Royal Rumble and the risk of him possibly getting hurt.

As far as possible opponents for Brock if he does make a UFC return, Meltzer named Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones as potential fights.

Superstars Who Have Thrived Through The Brand Split A Year Ago

A year ago WWE produced the second ever official brand split. Smackdown moved to Tuesday nights becoming a live event while also taking the logical moniker of Smackdown Live. Some fans were sceptical of the idea while others could not help but become excited. In the year since the brand split and draft took place a lot has happened in WWE. There has been returning legends, a new world championship and of course rising and falling stars.

Some superstars on RAW and Smackdown Live have thrived while some have failed to make a significant impact. The stars who took advantage of the brand split were 2016’s best and are currently doing the same in 2017. Whether it be due to having more airtime or due to simply relishing in opportunities is up to interpretation. There is no denying the hard work and insane work some superstars have done this past year.

With that this article looks at the stars who have thrived most in the past year. Specifically those who were aided massively by the brand split and took full advantage of it.

Charlotte Says She Wants To ‘Dethrone’ Asuka

On the Fan Theory podcast, Charlotte Flair talked about how she wanted to ‘dethrone’ the NXT Women’s Champion Asuka and defeat her in a match. “I want to dethrone her,” she said.

Talking about her dream match, she said:

“One of my dream matches would definitely be against Stephanie McMahon,(It would be) queen versus queen.”

Charlotte was there to promote this Saturday’s WWE Live Summerslam Heatwave Tour at the Wildwoods Convention Center in Wildwood.

You can check out the podcast here.

Brock Lesnar Not Re-Signing with WWE Next Year?

It was reported earlier today that Brock Lesnar has re-entered the USADA testing pool for MMA and he could possibly be fighting for the UFC before the year ends.

Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Lesnar’s current deal with WWE expires shortly after WrestleMania 34 and he has made it clear to the company that he doesn’t intend to re-sign. Bryan Alvarez indicated on Wrestling Observer Live today that this is probably why Roman Reigns’ match against Lesnar is being moved up to SummerSlam instead of it taking place at WrestleMania.

The reason Lesnar has re-entered the testing pool is so that he can make the right career decision about his career move when his WWE deal runs up. Lesnar has to re-enter the testing pool and fulfill the rest of his suspension before he is allowed to fight in the UFC again.

The Ross Report Recap w/ Dave Meltzer – Mae Young Classic, Strowman vs. Lesnar, Young Bucks & Omega in WWE, More!

Ross opens today’s show speaking about his recent experience calling the Mae Young Classic, which was taped last week in Orlando. He says he had a tremendous time calling that action, and he really bought into all of the women after personally interviewing each of them prior to their matches. Their stories were very captivating to him, and it was hard to not get emotional from time to time.

Ross mentions that he spoke to his old friend Mauro Ranallo while he was in Orlando as well, and he’s very happy for Ranallo for the success he is having. Ranallo’s been given another opportunity in WWE as the lead commentator of NXT, and has recently been given the assignment of calling the upcoming Mayweather/McGregor match as well.

Ross welcomes Dave Meltzer to the show.

Meltzer touches on the Mae Young Classic as well, saying that there are fewer opportunities for women in the wrestling business outside of WWE, and that’s why this opportunity means so much to the majority of them.

Ross admits that calling 30 matches in two nights was a marathon, but the audience was terrific throughout and that kept him motivated and right in the middle of the action. He says it was a very unique experience for him, and he can’t wait for everyone at home to have an opportunity to watch it.

WWE Has Long Term Plans for Kurt Angle & Jason Jordan

It looks like the American Alpha team is done for good after Jason Jordan was revealed to be Kurt Angle child on Monday’s episode of RAW.

Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Jason Jordan will receive a solid midcard level push on the RAW brand and will not be returning to the SmackDown Live brand. His former American Alpha partner Chad Gable will not be making the switch to RAW anytime in the near future either, so the team is basically done at this point.

In regards to the on-air relationship between Kurt and Jason, it’s being said that the two are expected to have lengthy storyline over the next few months as the Olympic athlete tries to be a father figure for Jason.

Simon Gotch Says He Was Unhappy While In WWE

Simon Gotch revealed in an interview with Wrestle List that he was unhappy during his time in WWE. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Leaving WWE: “I was really unhappy. I’d actually been pretty unhappy there for a while. It’s kind of an odd little side story – the previous year, right after the takeover they did in Dallas, which myself and my former tag team partner Aiden English weren’t even on the live special from Dallas. And I’d always been really close with Biff Busick or Oney Lorcan as he’s now known, and he walked by and said ‘Hey man, how are you doing,’ and I just looked at him and said ‘I f–king hate this place. I want to quit,’ and he got this huge grin on his face. If you’ve ever seen Biff smile you know he’s got this very unique sort of half smile does, but it was that thing of really, frustration building up and being really depressed about how we were being used. And you always want to be doing more and when you’re feeling like you’re not being allowed to you’re literally being barred from doing more, it can wear on you a lot.”

Main roster vs. NXT: “The one plus of NXT versus the main roster was in NXT they did the tapings every month or every couple of months. It was kind of like you knew where you were going or weren’t going. If you’re not used on a taping you know you’re not going to do anything for the next six weeks or month. So then you have time to work on stuff on house shows or put together ideas, new pitches – you know whether or not you need to do that. But, on the main roster, because everything’s so day-to-day and week-to-week, there’s very much that feeling of, am I doing anything on TV this week? No? Okay – let me pitch an angle. And next week comes and they tell me they like the angle but they don’t have time to start it yet. And another week goes by and they don’t do anything.”

If he would go back: “I wouldn’t say the door is closed obviously because in wrestling if it’s going to make them money, they’re not going to care about anything else. Serena Deeb was actually just back in the Mae Young Classic and I’m pretty sure everyone thought she was blackballed after she got released and I must have heard she’d retired a couple of years ago. So she’s an example of someone who a lot of people would’ve thought would never be back. Mickie James, Alundra Blayze, Drew McIntyre is probably one that people thought would never come back or Jinder Mahal. For me personally, I think it’s a matter of – I would need to come back under the right circumstances. I wasn’t happy with how I was used when I was there. I wouldn’t want to come back to basically fall into that same trap again.”

WWE to Make Changes to 205 Live?

While talking about the cancellation of Talking Smack on Friday’s episode of Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez indicated that the company may be making changes to some of it’s programming on the WWE Network.

It was previously reported that WWE decided to cancel Talking Smack because it wasn’t getting the viewership that the company was hoping for. Alvarez indicated that 205 Live could possibly be getting a change as well if fans don’t tune into the show. The general feeling right now is that not enough people are watching 205 Live, which could ultimately led to some changes before the year ends.

WWE Wants CM Punk Back In The Company

WWE apparently wants CM Punk to return to the company, according to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

While speaking about Mauro Ranallo’s return to the company, he wrote about how some people will leave the company on horrible terms but most end up returning. Meltzer wrote, “That’s why, no matter what is said, WWE wants C.M. Punk back and even though Punk was adamant about never doing it, history tells you time heals a lot of wounds.”

Despite WWE wanting Punk to return the company, he apparently has no intentions on it according to his wife, AJ Lee. During her recent book tour, AJ Lee said that she misses wrestling but her husband does not. It’s also worth noting that Punk is still going through a legal battle with WWE’s doctor Chris Amann, so it looks like a return anytime in the near future won’t be happening.

Bobby Fish Reacts to His NXT Debut

Bobby Fish spoke with WWE.com. Here are some highlights:

If he thought he’d make it to WWE: “At times, yes, and at times, no. I remember a conversation I had with Kevin Owens in a hotel gym in Chicago a few years back. We were both working for Ring of Honor, and at that time, it seemed like Kevin was headed toward the next step in his journey. I have immense respect for Kevin and all that he’s been through to find his success. He is not the prototype for what was rumored to be ideal here and neither am I. Understanding his drive to succeed here through that conversation made me think that if I want that — which I believe, in some way, anyone who laces up the boots to do this, does on some level — then I will create a similar opportunity for myself. So yeah, I did think I’d be here one day.”

NXT debut: “Somewhat surreal because much of this has come together very quickly. I watched the success of former co-workers and peers, such as Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohnoand Hideo Itami, make that very same walk at Full Sail. At this point, I feel so prepared for this new challenge. In my opinion, this life is about the journey, and when mine ends, I expect that this vessel, my body, will be banged up, battered and beaten, which will be a clear indication of a life well lived. NXT represents the next step in my journey.”

Wrestling in Japan: “Japan will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the place where I received the first big break of my career when I was selected to travel to the island and begin competing for Mitsuharu Misawa’s Pro Wrestling NOAH at the end of 2006. I worked eight years with NOAH and developed much of my style there. I learned from and tallied matches with Japanese legends like Misawa himself, Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama. I was also afforded the opportunity to develop alongside my Japanese peers like Hideo Itami, Atsushi Aoki and Naomichi Marufuji. In 2014, I left NOAH with their blessing to pursue a career with New Japan Pro Wrestling. There is no question in my mind that this is the place where I truly rounded out my skillset. I cannot thank [New Japan matchmaker] Gedo enough for the opportunity he gave me when I was invited there to compete. I shared the New Japan ring with a living legend in Jushin “Thunder” Liger, UFC Hall of Famer Kazushi Sakuraba, Yuji Nagata, Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi. The list is endless, and I am forever grateful. I am a better wrestler because of my time with New Japan Pro Wrestling.”