WWE News Roundup: Big name done with the company after 23 years; top star injured and pulled from SmackDown; wrestler says Rhea Ripley was punished
Welcome to another edition of the WWE News Roundup. This edition will talk about the latest news from the wrestling world.
With a WWE legend being done with the company, a top star injured and pulled from SmackDown, and Ronda Rousey talking about how WWE punished Rhea Ripley, there's much to discuss.
Without any further ado, let's get into it.
WWE legend Jerry Lawler's contract has expired, and he addressed it
The WWE legend is done with the company after 23 years and was removed from the site. He's spoken up about his career with the company being done in an interview with PW Insider.
"One other thing that a lot of people wonder about, my career has probably ended with the WWE and that's it's just one of those things that goes with my getting over with all the stuff that happened with the stroke and it was my, my just sitting behind a desk and doing it commentating on a match again was the extremely difficult."
He is now only listed as a Hall of Famer on the site, not on the active roster.
Bobby Lashley is injured and has been pulled from SmackDown
Ahead of his King of the Ring qualifier match against Tama Tonga on SmackDown, Bobby Lashley has suffered an injury. As a result, he has been pulled from the show, as revealed by Nick Aldis.
"Unfortunately, Bobby Lashley was set to take on Tama Tonga. But, I've been informed that Bobby has suffered an injury in training and he's going to be unable to compete. He's not going to be medically cleared to compete in that match."
Instead of Lashley, his Pride stablemate Angelo Dawkins will compete in the match.
Ronda Rousey thinks Rhea Ripley was punished by WWE
A top star has claimed that the company punished Rhea Ripley.
Ronda Rousey said in her book that Ripley and Charlotte Flair went for 20 minutes in their WrestleMania 39 match, which didn't sit well with many backstage. As a result, they seemingly punished her last year.
Ronda claimed that because they went overtime, the company punished her by not letting her defend her title much and mostly involving her in the storylines of the men on Judgment Day.
"But their act of defiance wouldn’t be without repercussions. After Rhea won the title, despite being the most over (fan-favorite) woman in the company, she was only allowed to defend her title twice in over five months. Instead, she spent most of her time escorting the men in her faction, Judgement Day, to and from the ring like a 1990s valet, instead of wrestling herself. The message to the women was clear: if you take time from the men—even if you’re the hottest name in the company—the company will make sure to take even more time from you." [via Rousey's memoir]
Whether this was actually the case or not is not confirmed.