WWE signings and releases

wwe wrote:WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar Brad Maddox.

WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar Brad Maddox as of Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015. WWE wishes Maddox the best in all of his future endeavors.

BRADDD NOOOO

Brad Maddox is probably the most under utilized wrestler in WWE history right? Like even if you don't think he was talented (I do), they literally did nothing with him for years.

Poor poor Maddox, I think he would be a GREAT fit in Lucha Underground, but not sure if it's too late to work him in the mix this season

I mean they recently brought back Maddox as a regular wrestler and started teaming him with Adam Rose under an "emo" gimmick, but honestly I just don't see anything in him that stands out.

You can argue whether his firing was just or not (it's apparently because he called the crowd "pricks" during a pre-match promo at last night's SmackDown tapings), but it's not like he had a ton of momentum regardless.

If it turns out Maddox is really all that good like many fans insist, we'll find out soon enough if he starts working the indy circuit regularly. I can't see him working in a televised promotion right away as nobody really knows what he can do, as he didn't really do anything during his WWE run.

https://twitter.com/ShakeThemRopes/status/695660704918073344

Bull Dempsey, Magno, Peter Howard, Sylvester Lefort and Marcus Louis were released today.Would have to say Bull is the most surprising by far, seemed like babyface bull was doing OK. Lefort had been managing Billie Kay on house shows I went to, not sure if she is still going to debut the gimmick she was doing.

Magno just got hired didn't he? What a disaster for him.

I'll miss Bull, honestly, but imagine the Eddie Kingston/Bull Dempsey matches we will get out of this.

And here I was hoping one day for a Bull Fit Vs. Simon System showdown, with the winner getting a lifetime supply of Buddy Rose Blow Away Diet powder. Happy trails, Bull.

rumour going around Wade Barrett has given notice to WWE. He has changed his Twitter name back to his actual name also.

Can't say I blame him.

Pretty sure he changed his twitter name awhile ago. But if he did i mean...I never saw it in Wade Barrett. So to me this would be clearing room on the roster for someone better.

Seems like we will have to rock with Wade in the League until June. Can't say I care.

Given any time Barrett so much as sneezes he ends up injured it's no surprise he'd look into other things to do.

From WWE.com
Australians Michael Nicholls & Shane Veryzer — who’ve competed around the world as The Mighty Don’t Kneel — have signed with WWE and will report to Orlando next month.

One of the globe’s most decorated tag teams is on its way to the WWE Performance Center.

Michael Nicholls and Shane Veryzer have signed with WWE and will report to the WWE Performance Center in early April to begin training as part of a new class of recruits, WWE.com has confirmed.

Hailing from Perth, Australia, the duo — known to fans as Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste, aka The Mighty Don’t Kneel — has competed on their home continent and beyond, achieving their greatest notoriety in Japan under the banner of Pro Wrestling NOAH. While there, Nicholls & Veryzer trained in Japan’s rugged dojos, crossed paths with the likes of current NXT Superstar Hideo Itami and former ECW Champion Masato Tanaka, and won the league’s heavyweight tag team titles twice.

TMDK also developed a reputation for innovative double-team maneuvers, and were voted the top tandem of the year by members of the Japanese media in 2013. It was the first time that non-Japanese competitors had won the award since 1998, when Vader and soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famer Stan Hansen were honored. It is currently unknown whether Nicholls & Veryzer will continue as a team or pursue individual competition in NXT.

TMDK were huge for NOAH. It's really sad to see NOAH going the way that AJPW has been going.

According to The Meltz
Ciampa and Gargano have signed NXT touring contacts. They can't do TNA, Ring of Honor, Lucha Underground, New Japan, places like that. But they can still do Evolve or PWG. But, WWE has first call on their services.

TMDK have reported to the Performance Center along with 8 other new recuits
http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/article/wwe-performance-center-new-recruits?sf24202768=1

WWE has announced that a new class of 10 recruits — including a former NFL player, an All-American collegiate wrestler, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and talent from independent wrestling circuits — has begun training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

“With support from our world-class coaching staff at the WWE Performance Center, these men and women will have the chance to hone their skills and fulfill their dream of becoming a WWE Superstar,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. “Our state-of-the-art training facility gives our talent every opportunity to succeed and grow, and I’m pleased to welcome this new class to WWE.”

The new training class includes:

Babatunde Aiyegbusi (Oleśnica, Poland) – Standing 6-foot-9 and weighing 350 pounds, Aiyegbusi is a former professional football player who had stints in Poland and Germany. Most recently, he spent the 2015 preseason with the Minnesota Vikings as an offensive lineman.

Bianca Blair (Knoxville, Tennessee) – Blair was an All-American and All-SEC track-and-field performer in hurdles at the University of Tennessee, and was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2011 and 2012. A CrossFit competitor and powerlifter, Blair has been featured in “RX Magazine,” “Femme Rouge Magazine” and CrossFit.com.

Nikola Bogojevic (Superior, Wisconsin) – A world-class grappler, Bogojevic was the National Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Junior Pan-American Games in 2011. He also won bronze at the Pan-American Games in Greco-Roman wrestling in 2014 and has extensive experience training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Carolyn Dunning (Las Vegas) – Dunning is a former Air Force ROTC member and nationally ranked bodybuilding bikini competitor by The National Physique Committee.

Macey Estrella (Parris Island, South Carolina) – Trained with Tom Caiazzo of American Premier Wrestling, Estrella is a former U.S. Marine and member of the Marine Corps SWAT team.

Nicola Glencross (Glasgow, Scotland) – Also known as Nikki Storm, Glencross has eight years of experience wrestling on the independent circuit for Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Eve, Scottish Wrestling Alliance, Insane Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Elite, Stardom and Shine.

Terrance Jean-Jacques (Boston) – Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 265 pounds, Jean-Jacques was an All-American wrestler at the University of Rhode Island in 2015. Prior to that, he accumulated a 32-2 record in wrestling at the University of Iowa.

Danielle Kamela (Los Angeles) – Trained with Rikishi and David “Gangrel” Heath at Knokx Pro Entertainment, Kamela was an on-air talent for FOX Sports Arizona, a Phoenix Suns dancer and an Arizona Cardinals cheerleader.

Michael Nicholls (Perth, Australia) – Also known as Mikey, Nicholls has 10 years of experience wrestling on the independent circuit for multiple organizations, including Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he was two-time Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Shane Veryzer, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Explosive Pro Wrestling.

Shane Veryzer (Perth, Australia) – Also known as Shane Haste, Veryzer has 11 years of experience wrestling on the independent circuit for multiple organizations, including Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he was two-time Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Michael Nicholls, and Explosive Pro Wrestling.

The new class will join a group of 69 men and women training out of the WWE Performance Center.

Nikki Storm is a weird signing.

WWE.com has announced some releases
Hornswaggle
Alex Riley
Zeb Colter
El Torito
Cameron
Santino Marella
Wade Barrett
Damien Sandow

Torito is super talented but never seemed to be a good fit there, hope he tears shit up in LU

They could have done more with Sandow, He was so over as Mizdow, he should have had some I-C & US titles reigns in the last year, maybe even a few ppv main events instead of not being used much. Will be interesting where he goes from here.

Barrett being injury prone really stopped him from being more than a midcard champ.

This all seems correct.

At least 2 others were released last week but not announced on WWE.com

"The Brooklyn Brawler" Steve Lombardi, who was with the company for over 30 years.

Christian, which doesn't affect him continuing his show with Edge on the WWE, thats a separate deal.

Rumors going around that there might be more releases shorty after Extreme Rules.

Of all of the releases, I'm oddly most disappointed about Alex Riley.

The guy was way OVER after his split with The Miz, and could have been built in a huge babyface. Even lately, he was really finding his niche in NXT as the anti-indy wrestler, and he really transformed his look to feel more like a major star, ala 1999-2001 era Triple H.

Sandow definitely got a raw deal in how he was absolutely wasted after his run as Mizdow. Realistically, he likely wasn't going to become a major headliner for the WWE, but he never really got a chance to do anything afterwards, aside from that terrible Mega-Powers gimmick with Curtis Axel.

I would imagine that a good amount of these wrestlers could end up in TNA, based on the kind of talent they've signed in recent years. El Torito is the only one that actually fits in Lucha Underground, although I could see them trying to sign a couple of these names. Sandow will have no issue finding work, but the question is where he would actually fit in.