Significant WWE Talent Releases Expected Following UFC Merger; Wrestling News September 15th 2023

Pro Wrestling Illustrated has released their annual top 500 ranking of the top professional wrestlers in the world: The PWI 500.

Topping the list this year are all three former members of The Shield: Seth Rollins at #1, Roman Reigns coming in at #2 and Jon Moxley rounding out the top three at #3. One surprising omission from the list is G1 Climax 2023 winner Tetsuya Naito, which the outlet has since confirmed was a “clerical error”.

We’ve listed the top 50 stars on the list below:

1. Seth Rollins
2. Roman Reigns
3. Jon Moxley
4. Gunther
5. El Hijo del Vikingo
6. MJF
7. Kazuchika Okada
8. Orange Cassidy
9. Josh Alexander
10. Cody Rhodes
11. SANADA
12. Claudio Castagnoli
13. Carmelo Hayes
14. Samoa Joe
15. Masha Slamovich
16. Bryan Danielson
17. Will Ospreay
18. Alexander Hammerstone
19. Bobby Lashley
20. Trey Miguel
21. Kevin Owens
22. Sami Zayn
23. Jake Lee
24. Chris Jericho
25. Kenny Omega
26. Drew McIntyre
27. Hiromu Takahashi
28. Adam Page
29. Kaito Kiyomiya
30. Gran Guerrero
31. Matt Cardona
32. Jay White
33. Shun Skywalker
34. Alex Kane
35. Kenoh
36. Zack Sabre Jr.
37. Bron Breakker
38. Solo Sikoa
39. Mike Bailey
40. KENTA
41. Steve Maclin
42. Hiroshi Tanahashi
43. Ricky Starks
44. Yuji Nagata
45. Austin Theory
46. Mistico
47. Wardlow
48. Alex Shelley
49. Darby Allin
50. Edge

What do you think of this year’s PWI 500? Do you agree with the rankings? Let us know your thoughts by sharing on Facebook or Twitter down below!

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown will emanate from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. The next WWE pay-per-view event is three weeks away: WWE Fastlane on October 7th.

Matches and segments announced for the show include:

• The Grayson Waller Effect with Special Guest John Cena
• LA Knight vs The Miz

What are you most excited to see on tonight’s episode of SmackDown? Let us know by sharing your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter down below!

The first major name to be released from WWE due to the ongoing major staff cuts from the company’s merger with UFC has been reported.

Jamie Horowitz, who’s served as Executive Vice President of Development and Digital since June 2021, has been let go by World Wrestling Entertainment today per PWInsider. Horowitz is likely to be the first of many high-profile WWE employees to be let go by the company in the next few hours following the formation of TKO Group Holdings on Tuesday.

Yesterday, WWE President Nick Khan sent out an internal email to all WWE staff advising them to work from home to allow the company’s Human Resources team to conduct “workforce reductions” privately throughout the course of today.

A legendary announcer known for his time in Memphis Wrestling is set to make his AEW return on an upcoming edition of Collision!

AEW recently announced that they’ll make their debut in Memphis, Tennessee on October 21st for an episode of AEW Collision. However, the company has now also confirmed a special guest appearance from one of the city’s most notable wrestling figures.

Dave Brown, who served as announcer of Memphis Wrestling for over 25 years, will serve as a guest announcer on the October 21st Collision, AEW announced via their official X account.

This marks Brown’s second appearance in AEW and his first in almost four years. Back in January 2020, Brown served as a guest commentator for the 15th episode of AEW Dark alongside Excalibur – who attempted to emulate Brown’s long-time commentary partner Lance Russell.

A new report has claimed that Edge’s removal from the internal WWE roster earlier this week was a “premature” move.

Dave Meltzer noted that the WWE Hall of Famer is still with the company and under contract in today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Hence, his removal from the internal roster was simply a premature move on the company’s part and not reflective of his current status.

At this time, he has no more matches left on his current WWE contract and his wrestling future is very much up in the air.

“Edge was removed from the active roster and then put back on. We were told that pulling him from the roster page was premature, since he is still under contract. As he had noted, he has no more matches left on his contract which expires this month. As far as what happens, that remains to be seen.”

An ongoing WWE contract caused the delay in the announcement of an upcoming AEW Collision episode!

In today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that a recent edition of AEW Collision was announced for October 21st just over a month out from the event. The reason is that WWE hosted an episode of RAW in the same venue in late August.

As part of WWE’s contract with venues, they cannot announce or advertise dates of other wrestling companies within a certain amount of days from WWE events. With the timing of the AEW Collision announcement, it looks as though the number of days is around 15.

“AEW just announced a 10/21 date in Memphis. The reason this date at the Fed Ex Forum was announced so late in the game is that WWE’s contract with arenas calls for no announcing or advertising of dates with other wrestling companies from a certain number of days before the event (so tickets for both aren’t on sale at the same time) and for a period after the event. Raw ran the building on 8/28 so it appears the window is about 15 days after the show before anyone could announce another show.”

ATTENTION MEMPHIS!#AEW is coming to Memphis, TN for the first time ever, bringing you #AEWCollision LIVE at the @FedExForum on Saturday, October 21st!

Tickets will go on sale Monday, September 18th at 10am CT
🎟️ https://t.co/UN1cNj1kQq pic.twitter.com/3ATWkSwThA

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 14, 2023

Roman Reigns is not expected to return to the ring for a while yet, with a new report revealing exactly when The Tribal Chief will next defend his title.

Writing in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Reigns’ next Undisputed WWE Universal Championship defense will take place on November 4th at the next Premium Live Event to emanate from Saudi Arabia. However, Reigns will return to WWE programming in the lead-up to the event.

Reigns last competed at SummerSlam on August 5th where he successfully retained the belt over Jey Uso, thanks to interference from Jimmy Uso.

“As expected, the next Reigns match will be 11/4 in Saudi Arabia. He will be back on television in the time leading to that show to promote the match.”

WWE have uploaded a new video to their YouTube channel featuring an extended clip from yesterday’s WWE The Bump.

The clip featured award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey appearing on The Bump before wWE Hall of Fame Hacksaw Jim Duggan made a surprise appearance and joined McConaughey.

Check out the full video above and let us know your thoughts by sharing on Twitter and Facebook below!

Former AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill is likely headed to WWE and backstage figures believe she could go straight to the main roster!

Dave Meltzer gave the latest of Cargill’s contract status with AEW in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer noted that her name has floated around WWE a lot lately although she has not officially signed with the company at this time, though the belief is she’d go straight to RAW or SmackDown rather than NXT.

Another source within the company noted to Meltzer that Cargill jumping ship was “out of the blue” but they did expect the move to occur. Jade competed in what seems to be her final AEW match of the tapings for this week’s AEW Rampage this past Wednesday, challenging Kris Statlander for the TBS Championship. That match will officially air tonight.

“Those in WWE believed she was coming and that it would be on the main roster rather than developmental, but I could see that going either way. Another person in WWE described it to us as that her name was being talked about a lot, but the deal was not completed at press time.

The money it would take to get her would have been far more than they pay those in developmental, but while she has a star look and is a great athlete, her skill set and experience level is not at WWE main roster woman levels. But good workers are there to make the less experienced and more marketable workers look better than they are.

One person in WWE described this as coming out of the blue, but that they do expect her to be coming in.”

WWE President Nick Khan has informed all WWE staff that “workplace reductions” will take place today following the company’s merger with UFC.

Khan issued an internal email yesterday that asked employees to work from home today in order to allow the company’s Human Resources department to work through the impending cuts privately. The full email can be read below, per PWInsider:

“As part of WWE’s transition into the newly formed TKO Group Holdings, we are evaluating our existing operations and systems to identify potential synergies across the business. This effort includes workforce reductions, which will take place tomorrow.

Those whose roles have been impacted will be notified by our Human Resources Team, who will share the details of their severance package. We are asking that everyone work remotely, Friday September 15th, so we can insure all conversations are handled privately and respectfully. We’ll send out a company-wide email once all of tomorrow’s conversations have happened.

Our company is home to the most talented, creative, and hard-working employees in the world. WWE is a special place, which makes moments like this difficult. Just know that we have nothing but gratitude and admiration for everyone we have had the privilege to work alongside.

Thank you for all your contributions and dedication.”

Former NXT UK Tag Team Champions The Dyad, better known as Grizzled Young Veterans, have departed WWE.

The duo reportedly requested their WWE releases back in April which the company denied and have now left the promotion following the expiry of their contracts, per today’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Their last match took place on the August 29th edition of NXT where they lost a Steel Cage match to The Creed Brothers, causing their opponents to be reinistated on NXT.

Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid found the majority of their WWE success in NXT UK under their independent monikers Zack Gibson and James Drake. Then known as Grizzled Young Veterans, Gibson and Drake became the first-ever NXT UK Tag Team Champions and went on to join NXT in February 2020 – although the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to disappear until late 2020.

The Liverpool and Blackpool-based stars respectively became finalists in the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic but ultimately fell to MSK at the first NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day. After languishing in NXT throughout 2021 and most of 2022, the duo was renamed in July 2022 and joined Schism alongside Joe Gacy and Ava Raine, roles they maintained until their exit from the company.

WWE staff cuts have long been expected since the company’s merger with UFC was announced but now it seems talent will be affected as well!

Nick Hausman of Haus of Wrestling reports that “major cuts” to talent across both the main roster and NXT are expected following the formation of TKO Group Holdings earlier this week, per a source at WWE. Whilst these talent releases may not take place today alongside the anticipated staff cuts, it’s said the cuts to the company’s roster have been planned for a while.

Hausman was also able to verify the internal email WWE President Nick Khan sent to all staff yesterday, asking them to work from home whilst the company underwent “workforce reductions.”

Morning everyone! You’ve made it to Friday, congratulations!

Welcome back to the TJRWrestling live blog! I’ll be with you from 7am to 1pm EST covering the latest stories & breaking news from WWE, AEW, NJPW and elsewhere across the wrestling world!

Today’s top stories are:

• Significant WWE Talent Releases Expected Following UFC Merger
• Former Tag Team Champions Depart WWE After Contract Expiry
  
• Nick Khan Warns WWE Staff Of Impending “Workforce Reductions”