CM Punk ‘Voted Out’ Of AEW, Sasha Banks WWE Update, Another Released WWE Star Returns – News Bulletin – October 29, 2022

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CM Punk was reportedly “voted out” of AEW, a new update on Sasha Banks’ WWE status, another released WWE star has made their return, and more.

It’s Saturday morning, and here’s our news bulletin for October 29, 2022 to help get your day underway.

CM Punk ‘Voted Out’ Of AEW, Top Stars Unwilling To Work With Him

Over a month since the infamous AEW All Out media scrum, and new information regarding the event is still coming to light, with CM Punk yet to make his return following his suspension.

AEW has already parted company with Punk’s friend and trainer Ace Steel following his involvement in the fight, and while Punk is still technically under contract to AEW, that may not be for much longer.

Dave Meltzer provided an update on the backstage stance towards Punk in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, noting that many of the top names in the company had noted that they would not work with Punk following the incident.

An anonymous top star noted to the Observer that “Punk won’t be back. His value on screen isn’t one percent worth the hassle and black cloud he causes backstage.”

Another top star noted that the team has decided he is out of the company, and that even though some were willing to work with him, the collective decided that he was ‘voted off the island’.

WWE has not had contact with either Punk or Ace Steel since the situation, and legally couldn’t with Punk even if there was interest in the company to bring him back.

It was also noted that every person involved in the situation was still unable to talk about it, with the only exception being Lucy Guy, the wife of Ace Steel (real name Chris Guy).

The investigation into the situation is now over, which was evident when AEW aired a video hyping up the return of the Elite on this week’s episode of Dynamite.

Update On Sasha Banks’ WWE Status

Former Raw, SmackDown and Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks has not been seen on WWE television since her and Naomi walked out ahead of the May 16 episode of Monday Night Raw.

The two were set to be a part of a six-way main event to determine a challenger for Bianca Belair’s Raw Women’s Championship, which was changed to simply Becky Lynch taking on Asuka due to the duo leaving the show.

Since that day, there have been multiple conflicting reports about whether or not they have been released from the company, with the former Tag Team Champions making the rounds at several red carpet events and fashion weeks since.

When Triple H took over WWE creative and talent relations back in July, many fans thought that an agreement would be reached between WWE, Sasha and Naomi for them to return to the company, which thus far has yet to happen.

However, in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer confirmed that, at least Banks, is still under contract to WWE, but there were hang-ups in negotiations for a new deal.

As for Naomi, she has also reportedly been in contract talks with WWE, but there has been no indication that she has signed anything, or that WWE has any concrete plans for bringing her or Sasha back into the fold.

Sasha was recently spotted training for the first time since her and Naomi walked out of Raw, being photographed with Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling ace Miyu Yamashita, which got fans excited about the prospect of a match between them.

Another Released Former WWE Star Returns On SmackDown

Since Triple H took over WWE creative from Vince McMahon back in July, we have seen many stars who were let go from the company return to the fold.

The first name to do so was Dakota Kai back at SummerSlam, with the most recent being Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson’s return on the October 10 episode of Raw.

The latest took place on last night’s October 28 episode of SmackDown, when SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey issued an open challenge for her championship.

The challenge was answered by former WWE star Emma (AKA Tenille Dashwood), who made her return to the company just one day before the 5 year anniversary of her WWE release.

While Emma was not able to capture the championship from Rousey on the show, she put up a great showing that showed WWE fans who may not remember her why she belongs back in the fold.

Tenille took to Twitter shortly after the show to react to her big return, simply stating “Home ❤️”.

Other Stuff

Last night’s SmackDown was noteworthy for more than just the return of Emma. The show featured an incredible segment with the Bloodline that had Roman Reigns laughing on live television, Shinsuke Nakamura being revealed as the mystery partner of Hit Row against Legado Del Fantasma, and closed the night with the reveal of Bray Wyatt’s ‘Uncle Howdy’.

WWE also taped next week’s episode of SmackDown after the show, as the show will be pre-recorded due to the company being in Saudi Arabia the following day. The show saw Gunther defend the Intercontinental Championship against Rey Mysterio, and Liv Morgan battle Sonya Deville in a No Disqualification match. The full results can be found here.

Two more matches were made official for WWE Crown Jewel on last night’s SmackDown, with the Usos set to defend the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against the Brawling Brutes’ Butch and Ridge Holland, as well as Bianca Belair defending the Raw Women’s Championship against Bayley in a Last Woman Standing match.

Last night’s episode of AEW Rampage saw the announcement that Mike Tyson will be making an appearance on next week’s episode of the show, with him being a special guest commentator for the show. The show will feature an ‘All-Atlantic City Dream Match’, where the All-Atlantic Champion will defend the championship against an opponent of his choosing. The title will be defended on next week’s AEW Dynamite, when champion Orange Cassidy faces both Rey Fenix and Luchasaurus in a three-way match.

Last night’s AEW Rampage featured AEW World Champion Jon Moxley scoring the win over Matt Menard of the Jericho Appreciation Society, Keith Lee making short work of Serpentico, before Swerve Strickland revealed that he had kidnapped ‘Daddy Ass’ Billy Gunn, Tay Melo defeating Madison Rayne, and Wardlow retaining the TNT Championship in the main event against Matt Taven of The Kingdom.

It was reported that WWE has discussed scrapping the Money In The Bank premium live event, instead moving the match back to WrestleMania starting next year, and that the idea is very much ‘alive’.

WWE United States Champion Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins had fans buzzing when he posted a photo on his Twitter seemingly revealing that he had blonde hair, a throwback to his popular signature look from 2012-2015.

WWE star Sheamus officially tied the knot with his fiancee last night, with former WWE star CJ Perry (Lana) sharing clips from their big day to her Twitter account. Drew McIntyre was also in attendance at the event, which led to him missing last night’s SmackDown.

IMPACT Wrestling star Chelsea Green posted a tweet which many believe to be her saying goodbye to IMPACT amid rumours of interest from WWE for a return.

Following his incredible return back at Extreme Rules, Bray Wyatt was revealed to be WWE’s number one merchandise seller right now, overtaking even the Bloodline!

After rumours of them receiving conditional AEW releases were debunked, AEW’s Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews of the House of Black may well be on their way back to the company, as all the stable members shared a cryptic video to social media seemingly teasing their return.

And AEW announcer Tony Schiavone revealed on AEW Unrestricted that his son Matt was now working as a producer for All Elite Wrestling.

Stay tuned to WrestleTalk.com throughout the day to keep up with all the news from the world of pro-wrestling.

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