Rey Mysterio Rumor Killer – Rey Mysterio has been linked to rumors lately about him joining the WWE. The folks at The Wrestling Standard claimed that Rey Mysterio had signed a new two-year contract to return to the WWE. Mysterio himself claimed that he’s in talks with the WWE for a three year contract, but the hold up has been the number of dates he wants to take. Rey wants a part time schedule, WWE does not. WrestlingINC claims that they talked to somebody with knowledge of the situation that no deal was in place.
Yet Dave Meltzer is reporting that a deal is in the works and that the WWE wanted to wait and announce the re-signing of Rey themselves, assuming it doesn’t fall apart. Rey has been in talks with the WWE for years, off and on, ever since he left the company.
Kane Under Fire For Wrestling – Kane, aka Glenn Jacobs is currently running as the Republican nominee for the position of Mayor in Knox County, Tennessee. His campaign is ongoing and many thought he was done in the ring, unless he lost. So when he popped back up on SmackDown a few weeks ago, it was interesting to say the least. However, it may of been a political gaffe on his part, as the Democratic nominee Linda Haney is using this to torch the big man.
She’s citing the fact he’s on the road across the country and not working the corners in Knox County as a sign that he’s not as invested in the job. She’s quoted as saying by the Knoxville News Sentinel.
I was really stunned to find out he was still pursuing it. I thought it was in the past. I thought in this crucial time he’d want to be here and be with the people. Being an entertainer doesn’t make you a political figure. It may get you some votes, but I believe people want someone with common sense and who is [ready to lead].
Kane responded to the political discourse by saying;
After I am elected Mayor, I’ll be Mayor. I’m sure some people will say that (I’m not focused) and some others will say that’s the coolest thing ever. Again, you can’t make everyone happy. You just do what you can and that’s it… you’re always going to catch criticism no matter what you do.
I may still do a few special things [in wrestling, if elected]. I’ve done it for 23 years now and have quite a history, it’ll always be part of my life. I think the question is if I am taking [running] seriously, and of course I am. I wouldn’t [be running] if not.
Another Sign Bryan is Gone? – Daniel Bryan continues to double down on the idea that he doesn’t want to be on the road as much anymore, despite being cleared to compete full time. Since the WWE cleared him Bryan worked under the idea that he’d work 100 matches a year tops. However, it appears the WWE is trying to raise the work load on. While speaking to Gorilla Position, he spoke about this;
I’ve been talking to WWE about maybe doing a lighter schedule because when we first starting talking about this, when I sent that, when Vince [McMahon] told me to send the letter to Dr. Maroon, he said for me to say, ‘for a limited schedule’, like ‘revised concussion protocol for a limited schedule’, so then, they clear me and I’m just on everything! I was just like, ‘I wasn’t expecting this! Anywhere between 50 and 100 matches a year, to me, [is ideal] because one of the doctors that cleared me at Barrow Neurological [Institute], Dr. Javier Cárdenas talked to me. He said, I think when he cleared me before in 2015, he said, ‘with all the stuff that [Bryan] had done on top of that, like, before I thought we dotted our Is and crossed our Ts, but the stuff you’ve done on your own, you’ve really scratched a big hole over the I and ripped, marked, through the T.’ And so, he said, ‘just so you know going forward, the less exposure you have, and this is for anybody whether you have a history of it or not, the healthier you’re going to be. So I was thinking, ‘oh, I’ll do 75 to 100 matches a year or whatever it is.’ And now it looks to be way more than that, so if I were to change something, it’d be like I’d kind of like to do less, be away from home [less]. Like, for me, it’s not about wrestling less. It’s like I don’t want to be away from home this much.
Quick Hits – NJPW has announced that they’ll be returning to Long Beach, California on September 30th for Fighting Spirit Unleashed, and will old two Young Lions shows (students and young wrestlers with the company) on November 10th and 11th, that are being dubbed The Lions Break. NBA Dallas Mavericks owner and owner of AXS (home to NJPW in the states) claims that NJPW is the best in the world.