CM Punk & WWE In Talks For Dream Match With Steve Austin; December 1st Wrestling News Round-Up

According to a new report McKenzie Mitchell was not the only WWE release today.

Brandon Thurston has reported that sources within the WWE have confirmed further releases to corporate staff.

This comes following the release of over 100 employees following the UFC x WWE merger back in September.

Taking to Twitter, Thurston notes:

“WWE has laid off more corporate employees today, according to multiple people at the company.

This follows layoffs of more than 100 employees in September following the closing of the TKO merger.”

At this time only McKenzie Mitchell appears to have been released from WWE’s pool of on-screen talent.

The former Bump host took to Twitter to address her release noting:

“Today I was released by WWE.

I met my husband, moved cross country from CT to FL for @wwenxt (a place I’ve always considered home), and met friends that became like family.

I’ve always said and firmly believe in “when door closes, another opens.”

Inside The Ropes will look to keep you update on this as more information becomes available.

WWE talent and NXT backstage interviewer McKenzie Mitchell has been released by the WWE.

The former Bump host took to Twitter this afternoon to confirm the news and provide a positive message to her fans.

“Today I was released by WWE.

I met my husband, moved cross country from CT to FL for @wwenxt (a place I’ve always considered home), and met friends that became like family.

I’ve always said and firmly believe in “when door closes, another opens.”

Drew McIntyre’s recent heel turn has been presented with a strong dose of ‘justified support’ for the former WWE Superstar with McIntyre claiming he has been overlooked by the company in favour of everybody else.

Well according to Drew McIntyre, the WWE is still sending the message loud and clear that they do not care about him after the Scottish star was unceremoniously left off of the 2024 Royal Rumble event poster.

Taking to Twitter, McIntyre would state:

“Are you starting to understand my frustrations now?”

McIntyre is not the only big-name WWE star not featured on the poster, ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar has been left off the event advertising, something fans have begun speculating over.

Do you think Drew is right to be annoyed? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

Eric Bischoff talks exclusively to Inside The Ropes about why Hulk Hogan initially rejected joining the NWO in WCW alongside Kevin Nash and Scott Hall!

Check it out!

Ahead of the new year, WWE has counted down their funniest moments of 2023 so far!

Check out the video below featuring the likes of Road Dogg, Seth Rollins and Rhea Ripley.

It has been reported that a number of top WWE Superstars are being considered to face Roman Reigns at the upcoming Royal Rumble PLE.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter according to Meltzer, multiple top stars are being considered for the coveted spot. Among these names are Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, and LA Knight. Meltzer stated:

“Right now, or at least as of early in the week, it wasn’t locked in who that would be with. A few names have been considered, Orton being one of them. Orton, Owens, and Knight would on paper seem like the top names, but none are a lock, and Knight was supposed to go in another direction as of last week.”

This suggests that while Orton, Owens, and Knight are strong contenders, there is still uncertainty surrounding the decision.

Survivor Series 2023 will go down as an all time memorable WWE PLE due to the shocking ending of the show.

However, how did the in-ring action prior to CM Punk’s return hold up? Well here is what Dave Meltzer thinks.

Writing in this morning’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave would drop his ratings for the matches that are sure, as always, to spark debate.

Dave Meltzer’s Star Ratings For Survivor Series Are As Follows:

• Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Shotzi and Bianca Belair defeated Bayley, Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane and Asuka: Women’s WarGames match – ****1/2
• Gunther defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Championship – ***1/2
• Santos Escobar defeated Dragon Lee – ***1/4
• Rhea Ripley defeated Zoey Stark to retain the Women’s World Championship – **3/4
• Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Jey Uso and Sami Zayn defeated Damian Priest, JD McDonagh, Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor and Drew McIntyre: Men’s WarGames match – ****3/4

Do you agree with Dave’s ratings? Let us know by hitting those thumbs below!

CM Punk has reportedly been looking to re-sign with the WWE well before anything went down in AEW.

CM Punk returned last weekend during WWE’s annual Survivor Series PLE but according to a new report ‘The Second City Saint’ wanted it to happen much sooner.

Writing in this morning’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer revealed that CM Punk had tried to re-sign with the WWE twice prior to returning at Survivor Series.

Meltzer wrote:

“From the WWE side, they knew Punk would come since there were the two prior attempts Punk’s side made to come in, once before he signed with AEW and a second time last year when WWE couldn’t have gotten him anyway because his AEW contract was still in effect.

Even though Punk’s first AEW promo indicated strong negativity toward his WWE tenure, it was clear despite all the water under the bridge from his side with the nature of his quitting and the subsequent lawsuit, that in the end, the opportunity for huge money and fame overrode the past and time heals all wounds.”

Logan Paul is killing it as a WWE Superstar but The Undertaker has some friendly advice for the ‘Maverick’ on how he can take his performances to the next level.

During an episode of Six Feet Under, the WWE Hall of Famer credited Paul for his high-flying moves, but believes that the United States Champion needs to improve on his storytelling in order to take his abilities to the next level.

“Dude, I tell you what, it’s amazing guys like him, obviously incredibly athletic.

I met him once at WrestleMania last year in LA briefly. Man, if he wanted to, I think he could be really, really special. Not that he isn’t. I mean, athletically he can do everything, but I mean, if he would kind of invest some of his time too, I mean, what he’s done already with, I mean, is pretty astounding, really.

It’s not easy to get in and have matches of that calibre that quickly.

I think a little more work in the storytelling department.” [h/t SEScoops]

Following the latest WWE Draft Cedric Alexander was one of many stars left undrafted and deemed “free agents” by the WWE.

“Free Agents” did not represent any one brand and were able to appear on Raw, SmackDown and NXT as they pleased (not to be confused with the likes of Cody Rhodes, Becky Lynch and Dominik Mysterio who aren’t free agents but still just do that anyway.)

Well in recent weeks Alexander has featured regularly once again on WWE TV taking on Bronson Reed on Raw and having two matches against Dragon Lee on SmackDown.

Alexander’s performances must have impressed Nick Aldis as the high flying star has found himself a new permanent home on SmackDown.

Following his latest match with Lee, Alexander’s WWE.com roster listing was moved from free agent to SmackDown confirming he has now been drafted by the blue brand.

Are you excited to see more of Cedric Alexander on SmackDown? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

Miro has come to the defence of Ric Flair…and landed himself in some hot water in the process.

As covered earlier today, Ric Flair has offered to step away from AEW after facing major social media backlash following a controversial promo on Rampage.

Well, according to Miro, the backlash wasn’t from “real” fans and was only caused due to the “poison” that was “dirt sheets.”

Taking to Twitter, Miro would respond to Flair’s apology stating:

“Stop reading the dirt sheets. They are poison and they do not represent the fans.”

Well, it would appear based on the replies to Miro’s Tweet that he might have missed the mark on this one.

A quick scroll through the replies will show hundreds of comments such as the ones below criticising Miro for coming to the defence of Flair despite the on-going sexual misconduct allegations against him.

“No I’m pretty sure it’s the fans who don’t want Ric Flair.” – @JoshBrown06

“It’s literally the fans saying this, not dirt sheets Also Ric has been friends with Meltzer for decades and is one of his biggest sources” – @dajosc11

“Don’t think you need to read a “dirt sheet” to know Ric Flair is horrid human, but that’s just me being a normal human with standard views, dk if that suits the wrestling world though” – @JPsWrestling

Do you agree with Miro? Do the real fans not care about Ric Flair’s comments? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

In the past year we have seen huge names like Cody Rhodes, Jade Cargill and CM Punk move from AEW to the WWE.

But according to a new report, the latest name looking to make that switch is someone a lot more surprising.

QT Marshall has been a huge part of AEW since the companies inception, operating in a range of backstage roles as well as helping to train new talent within The Nightmare Factory and remaining an on-screen talent.

But QT’s time in AEW is over.

QT Marshall broke the news on social media that he would be departing AEW, thanking those within the company in the address.

Since the a report from Fightful Select revealed that several names within WWE pushing for the company to sign the former AEW talent due to his skills in a wide array of backstage roles.

Tony Khan recently commented on QT Marshall’s time in AEW, you can read a breakdown of those comments here.

Ric Flair’s AEW career could be over already.

‘The Nature Boy’ has landed himself in hot water following a controversial promo performed during the taping for tonight’s episode of AEW Rampage.

On November 29th, Ric Flair took to the ring during an AEW Rampage taping immediately following Dynamite.

Flair cut a promo during the show, and fans online were outraged at one line in particular.

Ric Flair, who recently faced backlash after sexual misconduct allegations resurfaced during an episode of Dark Side of the Ring, stated to the audience:

“18-28 no boyfriends, no husbands, meet me at my hotel room.”

Taking to social media, Ric Flair addressed the backlash to his Rampage promo, saying that he’s tired of negativity surrounding him and that he wants to be allowed to live his life in peace.

He also made the surprising declaration that despite being exactly where he wants to be in AEW, he is willing to walk away if he’s too much of an embarrassment to Tony Khan and the company.

“I Am So Tired Of Hearing All This Negativity! I Don’t Need To Work, And I Don’t Need The Money. Can’t I Simply Enjoy Being By My Dear Friend @Sting ’s Side For The Next Few Months Without So Much Hatred? I Know I’m Old, But That Doesn’t Mean I Can’t Enjoy Life! I Have Earned The Right To Do Whatever I Want & I’m Exactly Where I Want To Be! I Appreciate Everything @TonyKhan, But I’m More Than Willing To Walk Away If I Am Embarrassing You And Your Company. All I Can Say Is I’m Sorry!”

You can read a full breakdown of Ric Flair’s controversial comments, here.

Do you think Ric Flair is in the wrong for his comments? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

Fans around the world entered a state of joyful panic last night after news broke that WWE was “optimistic” at making a match between CM Punk & ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin a reality.

The report, from Fightful Select, noted that since CM Punk’s WWE return at Survivor Series 2023 ‘several’ individuals within the company have been pushing to make a dream match against Steve Austin happen.

The report goes on to note that Punk has since had discussions with the WWE regarding the match and many in the company are now ‘hopeful’ and ‘optimistic’ at bringing the plans to life.

At this point it does not appear that Austin has spoken with Punk or the WWE about the match and this remains very much an ideal scenario plan but with WrestleMania just five months away…anything is possible.

You can read more about WWE’s plans for a match between CM Punk and Steve Austin, here.

Good Afternoon!

I hope everyone is doing well and has had a great week so far.

I can’t believe it is December already, how is timing moving so quickly!

I will be with you from 12pm to 6pm BST (7am – 1pm ET) covering all the biggest stories from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT and more.

We will be kicking things off today with the biggest stories from the last 24 hours including:

• CM Punk vs Steve Austin being discussed by WWE.
• Ric Flair receives social media backlash following divisive AEW promo.
• WWE interested in signing AEW star QT Marshall, Tony Khan responds to his impending departure.
• Fans believe they have discovered who attacked MJW following AEW Dynamite.
• Fans hit back at Miro after the AEW star comes to the defence of Ric Flair, dubs “dirt sheets” as “poison.”