WWE News: Rey Mysterio Contract Update, SummerSlam at WWE PC, More Info on WWE Coronavirus Testing

Rey Mysterio is part of a long-term storyline on the Raw brand with Seth Rollins. Seth Rollins injured Mysterio by jamming his right eye against the steel steps. There have been Rey Mysteiro retirement teases since then while Rey’s 23-year-old son Dominik has joined his father in trying to fend off Seth along with his buddies Murphy and Austin Theory. The storyline has also seen Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo supporting Rey as well. Mysterio is 45 years old and still putting on great matches.

There is some contract news regarding Mysterio because the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer is reporting that Mysterio is no longer under contract to WWE. Rey signed a WWE deal in September 2018 for 18 months, that expired and he’s been working without a deal for months. There have bene other reports that Rey could have added six months onto the deal, but it’s not known if that happened.

Mysterio apparently wanted a raise as part of a new deal, but WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has been hesitant to do that during this Coronavirus period. Earlier this year in April, WWE released and furloughed a lot of employees to try to save money.

It is believed that WWE doesn’t want Mysterio to leave and that they are working on a new deal. It’s possible they have that new deal, but nothing has been reported yet about that.

Rey’s son Dominik has aspirations to be a wrestler and he has been training for a few years. Dominik doesn’t have a WWE developmental deal as far as we know, but it’s certainly possible that he is wrestling for WWE in the near future.

As for Rey’s future, if he doesn’t re-sign with WWE then perhaps he could work for All Elite Wrestling or New Japan Pro Wrestling or somewhere else, but that’s just speculation at this point.

You can listen to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Radio talking about Rey here.

TJR Thoughts: I would be surprised if Mysterio left WWE at this point in his career. While I’m sure AEW or another company would push him as well as pay him a lot, if he’s going to wind down his in-ring career while working with his son then WWE is the best place for that. Rey asking for more money also makes sense because he’s done really in the last two years in terms of having great matches and delivering some memorable promos as well. I hope they come to a deal and that Rey stays where he is while also working as team with his son. That would be cool to see.

SummerSlam at WWE Performance Center

This year’s WWE SummerSlam is currently scheduled to take place on Sunday, August 23 at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. This is according to PWInsider. An official announcement hasn’t been made by WWE, but the WWE PC is likely the best spot for the summer spectacular due to ongoing Coronavirus concerns.

This news isn’t a surprise after the Post Wrestling report last week noting that SummerSlam would take place on August 23 at the WWE Performance Center. We posted about it here, along with the information that Saturday, August 22 will be the next NXT Takeover event.

SummerSlam 2020 was originally scheduled to take place in Boston, but those plans changed due to the Coronavirus health crisis.

TJR Thoughts: This isn’t new information if you read our site regularly. I just wanted to post about it because it’s another confirmation on the date of WWE SummerSlam with the event likely taking place at the WWE Performance Center.

WWE Coronavirus Testing Update

There has been more thorough Coronavirus tests by WWE in the last month after there was a positive test in the company. That has led to some people missing shows due to getting positive on the Coronavirus test while others have missed recent TV tapings due to feeling ill on the day of tapings.

In addition to more aggressive testing, WWE has made it mandatory for people at the WWE Performance Center to wear masks as long as they aren’t performing on camera. It was reported by PWInsider (which we posted here) that WWE would also fine people not wearing a mask:

* Protective masks must be worn at all times while at TV tapings except for the talents that are on camera.

* WWE will be fining people that don’t wear masks $500.

* If somebody has a second offense of not wearing a mask then they will be fined $1,000.

Why the change of heart after months of WWE not aggressively testing or pushing mask wearing? Apparently it came from a wrestler.

It was reported by Fightful Select that a wrestler that returned from a hiatus talked to Vince McMahon about it. The wrestler told Vince about how they felt WWE wasn’t taking social distancing and masks seriously enough. Considering all of the positive Coronavirus tests in Florida, it’s certainly understandable for this unnamed wrestlers to voice their concerns to the boss.

The new rules in place were likely well received by WWE’s wrestlers and staff that probably wanted more strict guidelines in the first place.

The WWE roster will get a break this week. This week’s NXT on Wednesday was taped last week, two weeks of Smackdown was taped last Thursday and two episodes of Raw (for tonight and next Monday) were taped last Friday.

TJR Thoughts: It took WWE about four months to get it right, but it sounds to me like they finally get it right. Here’s hoping that they don’t have any more Coronavirus outbreaks in the near future.