MORE GOONAGE: There was a rumor that the reason WWE put the Women’s belt on Sasha Banks on Monday was because Charlotte had requested to take some time off. Those rumors have been shot down by Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch. WWE’s creative team felt that the new Raw needed to start off with a surprise, and that was one of the surprises they chose. Plus Vince McMahon felt that Charlotte had done a good job establishing the Women’s championship as “legitimate” after the glorified diva run of Nikki Bella. Now that the belt has been built up, WWE seems more open to booking a few hot-shot title changes to help the Raw storylines. Triple H has been a big proponent of Banks, and there is already a rematch book between her and Charlotte for SummerSlam.
¨ There are several WWE superstars not happy that Brock Lesnar is seemingly exempt from WWE’s Wellness Policy. Lesnar has recently flunked two PED tests from the United States Anti-Doping Agency before and after his return to UFC and is being investigated by the agency. However, Lesnar is still being pushed to wrestle Randy Orton at SummerSlam in one of the highlighted matches of the event.
¨ WWE is aiming for a Sasha Banks-Bayley match at WrestleMania 33. Bayley made her WWE debut last Sunday at Battleground as Banks’ partner and will wrestle on Raw.
¨ Former WWE Women’s Champion Melina is close to signing a deal to return, according to cagesideseats.com. Melina hasn’t been with the company in over four years, so her return would be a surprise. No word on what show she will appear on, the rumor is Smackdown to help get the younger female wrestlers over.
¨ Former WWE Tough Enough runner-up Zamariah “ZZ” Loupe was released by WWE this week. ZZ, who came close to winning the competition despite the trainers hating him, suffered a self-inflicted injury while training and had missed the past two months when it was initially determined he would miss 4-to-6 weeks.
¨ Rusev and Lana were married in real life this past weekend in Malibu. Congratulations to the happy couple.
¨ Nikki Bella revealed she has been cleared to resume working out and has been going to the WWE’s Performance Center. She is eyeing a return to the ring in September. How she fits in with the new crop of women’s wrestlers (now that the term “diva” has been mercifully retired) remains to be seen.
¨ Cleveland’s Johnny Gargano will wrestle Tommaso Ciampa in the final match of the first round of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic this Wednesday. The winner will face T.J. Perkins in the quarterfinals.
¨ The WWE has re-signed both Jinder Mahal and Curt Hawkins recently. Mahal will be assigned to Raw, while Hawkins will be assigned to Smackdown.
¨ Cody Rhodes is expected to sign a long-term deal with Ring of Honor once his 90-day no-compete clause with WWE expires. He is currently slated for a one-time appearance at the Final Battle event, but Rhodes has begun dropping hints that he’s not competing there “just once.”
¨ Real-life couple Paige and Alberto Del Rio were both not happy about getting drafted to different brands. A rumor surfaced that the couple decided to break up, but Paige diffused that rumor with a series of Tweets.
¨ Other former WWE wrestlers rumored to be returning in the near future include MVP, Tommy Dreamer and Carlito.
¨ And finally, the WWE re-signed the Dudley Boyz for one more year. The Dudleys have said through their Twitter accounts that they are happy with the current roles with WWE, helping the younger tag teams get over and helping them improve.
Dan Gilles has been a local sportswriter for 22 years and is a longtime fan and observer of professional wrestling. His Off The Turnbuckle wrestling column originally ran in the Lorain Morning Journal from 1998-2003 and he gets asked at least once a month if he was going to bring it back. Follow him on Twitter @DanGilles1973.
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