Top 5 Wrestling News Stories Of The Week 09/16: More Changes To WWE Programming, The Lucha Bros WWE Bound? & Miro Requests Release From AEW
Each and every week, the weird and wonderful world of professional wrestling never fails to captivate fans with a plethora of captivating stories that make their way into the news cycle.
Whether it’s shocking upsets, dramatic showdowns, or behind-the-scenes drama, the happenings within professional wrestling always keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Here are the Top Five Wrestling News Stories of the Week.
WWE Show Set To Be Scrapped
More changes are coming to WWE programming.
It’s going to be all change for WWE in the coming weeks and months with NXT moving to the CW Network on October 1st, and Raw going to Netflix on January 6th, 2025. Meanwhile, SmackDown has already moved from Fox to the USA Network – the soon-to-be former home of Raw.
The company also has an existing deal with NBCU which sees the WWE Network available via Peacock in the United States. As part of the new SmackDown deal, all old episodes will be available on Peacock, and new shows will be added 30 days after being broadcast live.
At present the same deal applies to Raw. But this will be all change when the show moves to Netflix. As noted by WrestlingNews.Co, Peacock will no longer have the libraries for Raw and NXT after September 19th and October 1st.
Viewers will now see countdown clocks attached to NXT and Raw programming, but “That will only include episodes after the dates mentioned above.”
Peacock is also the home of NXT Level Up, however according to a new report on Wrestle Votes Radio via Backstage Pass, the show will be scrapped.
“While we’re talking about NXT, with the WWE Hulu contract coming up next week, the NXT secondary show Level Up will be discontinued. That’s what we’re hearing. They will no longer continue filming the Level Up show that airs on Peacock, that features a lot of the younger NXT talent. And you know, it is what it is. It’s just a lot of moving parts right now, but we will say goodbye to Level Up.”
Absent WWE Star Teases Return
An injured WWE star has shared an interesting update.
Dakota Kai hasn’t wrestled since teaming with IYO SKY at a WWE live event on July 27th. A little over a week later on Raw, Kai was attacked backstage by Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark.
A week later, Michael Cole announced on commentary that Kai would be out of action for between eight to ten weeks after undergoing surgery on a torn meniscus.
However, it seems the star already has her eye on getting back in the ring.
In a post on her Instagram stories, Kai shared three video clips with the caption “See. You. Soon.”
AEW Makes Major Changes To Plans For Swerve Strickland
Swerve Strickland is already closing on a return.
Off the back of losing his AEW World Championship to Bryan Danielson at All In, Swerve Strickland went to war with Hangman Adam Page at All Out.
When all was said and done Page was the man with his hand raised, and it was reported Swerve Strickland would now be taking a break. The star’s hiatus was reportedly planned in advance after he signed his latest contract, and it was believed he could miss WrestleDream in October.
Despite those previous reports, it seems Strickland will be back in action within the next few weeks. Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that Strickland will return quicker than previously thought, and logically this would mean an appearance at WrestleDream.
Swerve Strickland we were told will be back sooner than originally expected. It would make sense for him to be on the 10/12 PPV in Tacoma, since he’s from there, although we don’t have that confirmed. I don’t know where they go with Strickland vs. Page after the lights out cage match, but the feud definitely should continue.
Rumour Killer On Lucha Bros’ WWE Switch
The Lucha Bros haven’t arrived in WWE just yet.
After months of speculation, it was reported that Rey Fenix and Penta had either signed with WWE or that an announcement was imminent. The former AEW World Tag Team Champions have been linked with a move for several months, with the pair making little secret of their desire to leave.
The report added that the sports entertainment giant has been “given the green light” to produce “masks, t-shirts, and promotional material.”
In addition, it was noted that the pair have signed a multi-year deal and will go straight to the main roster. However, things might not be that straightforward.
According to a new update from Fightful Select, a deal between the Lucha Brothers and WWE is yet to be signed. In fact, it’s believed that Rey Fenix is still under an AEW contract, and “the transition won’t be as smooth as expected.”
Both wrestlers are still on the AEW roster page. Despite this, Penta told several people throughout the summer that he expects to join WWE, and he and Fenix will join as a package deal, debuting on the main roster.
Absent AEW Star Requests Release
Former TNT Champion Miro is looking to leave AEW.
Miro hasn’t wrestled since defeating Andrade El Idolo at Worlds End in December 2023. During a hit-and-miss spell with the company, the star has wrestled just 11 times since November 2021.
Back in April, Miro revealed he’s been struggling with shoulder and elbow injuries sustained towards the end of 2023, however, he said he was rehabbing and working on a return. Unfortunately, this was followed by a report claiming Miro was “behind schedule” in his recovery.
During his absence, the former WWE star’s now-ex-wife CJ Perry revealed the couple had separated. Perry later left AEW but has yet to return to wrestling.
It’s now been reported by Fightful Select that Miro has asked to leave AEW, although there’s no word on whether his request was granted. The report adds that while Miro took longer than expected to recover from injury, he’s been fit “quite some time.”
There had been some talk about using him in the Casino Battle Royal at All In, but that never came to pass, neither did a storyline with Jon Moxley pitched by the man himself. It’s reportedly been “somewhat common” for Miro and the company to agree on creative.