Neville WWE Rumor: Did The Former Cruiserweight Champ Really Quit?
WWE is emphatically denying reports that former Cruiserweight Champion Neville has walked out on the company. Rumors began swirling Tuesday that the English wrestler became frustrated by the creative plan for him on Monday's RAW and exited the arena before the show went on the air.
According to The Wrestling Observer, Neville became upset after learning he was scheduled to lose to now former champion Enzo Amore in a Lumberjack Match in that night's main event. After Neville allegedly took his leave, WWE reportedly called an audible and decided to have Kalisto score a surprising win over Amore to become the new Cruiserweight Champion.
Although WWE is denying the rumors in the strongest possible terms, Neville was noticeably absent from Tuesday's 205 Live. His Twitter account has been dormant since September 28 when he promoted his t-shirt that is being sold by WWE's online store. However, he has never been overly active on social media.
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Kevin Owens deepened the intrigue on Instagram Wednesday by posting a picture of himself and Neville. Without comment, Owens submitted a candid black and white photo showing Neville holding the Cruiserweight title over his left shoulder while the two were having a discussion backstage.
The 32-year-old last wrestled a televised match on September 26th when he defeated Ariya Daivari on 205 Live. He then won a series of matches against Amore by disqualification on house shows, but hasn't wrestled since.
The RAW brand, which hosts the cruiserweight division, is scheduled to have a series of house shows in Canada and the Pacific Northwest beginning Friday. The loop ends Monday, when WWE's flagship program emanates from Portland, Oregon. It's unclear whether Neville will make an appearance at any of the shows. Only time will tell.
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News and Notes
On a brighter note for WWE, the company's fundraising efforts for the Susan G. Komen Foundation are doing well. Since its inception, WWE's initiatives have raised more than 2 million dollars for breast cancer research, according to figures published on Komen's website.
Ring of Honor has a massive series of Global Wars shows using New Japan Pro Wrestling talent this weekend. The loop begins Thursday in Buffalo and culminates with an iPPV Sunday in Chicago. The double main event features IWGP U.S. Champion, Kenny Omega, taking on Yoshi-Hashi and an eight-man tag match between Bullet Club (ROH Champion Cody and Six-Man Tag Champions Young Bucks and Adam Page) and Search and Destroy (ROH Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns, Jonathan Gresham, and Jay White). Keep an eye on the Flip Gordon-Will Ospreay match, which has the potential to be a show stealer. ROH is also offering an exclusive free live stream of Friday and Saturday night's shows to its online ringside subscribers.
ROH is returning to the 2300 Arena (formerly known as ECW Arena) in Philadelphia next Friday for a television taping. No matches have been announced.
WWE is finally taking the shrink-wrapp off of the repackaged Luke Harper and Eric Rowan. The former Wyatt Family members now appear to be calling themselves The Bludgeon Brothers after resurfacing in a dark vignette on Tuesday's SmackDown.
Chuck Carroll is former pro wrestling announcer and referee turned sports media personality. He once appeared on Monday Night RAW when he presented Robert Griffin III with a WWE title belt in the Redskins locker room.
Follow him on Twitter @ChuckCarrollWLC.