Home » Wrestling » AEW NEWS » AEW and WWE Rumor Roundup April 30, 2022: NXT releases and more!

WWE and AEW Rumor Roundup for April 30, 2022, including NXT releases, WWE name change, AEW injury, and more!

These are all the latest rumor roundup in pro-wrestling, which are currently afloat. So let’s have a look at all the rumor roundup from WWE and AEW.

1. NXT releases 

According to Fightful, WWE has released two long time members of the NXT roster. 

Dakota Kai, who worked the independent & signed with WWE in 2016. She competed in the inaugural Mae Young Classic, reaching the semi-finals. Then, she won the NXT Women’s Tag Titles with Raquel Gonzalez. 

Dakota Kai opened this week's NXT
Dakota Kai on NXT (WWE)

According to Fightful, she “was said to have seen the release coming, and beyond that had indicated to WWE that she was not planning on renewing her WWE contract.”

Malcolm Bivens is one more big name who has been released. She joined the company in 2019. Recently he has been working with the Diamond Mine stable and serving as the mouthpiece for rising stars like The Creeds and Ivy Nile. It is said that he was asked to sign a new contract in February and declined.

Other notable names are, 

Harland (Parker Boudreaux), and Persia Pirotta (Stephanie De Landre). Harland had been paired with Joe Gacy. Pirotta, on the other hand, was introduced on television right around the time of the 2.0 rebrand and was in a high profile program with Duke Hudson, Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis. 

  • Sanjana George (Vish Kanya)
  • Draco Anthony (Reginald Chase Crews)
  • Mila Malani (Kellie Morga)
  • Raelyn Divine (Jaylen Williams)
  • Blair Baldwin (Paige Prinzivalli)

According to Fightful, John Laurinaitis sent out an email citing budget cuts as the reason for these releases. However, in the case of Parker Boudreaux, it sounds like NXT coaches felt he wasn’t progressing enough in the ring. 

2. One NXT official was upset about the lack of notice on the releases, especially with some of the cuts potentially affecting ongoing storylines. 

3. Sammy Guevara Injury

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Sammy Guevara was injured doing a 630 off the ladder in the main event of this week’s Dynamite. 

Guevara told others that he would be okay, but his injury’s severity was unknown. 

4. WWE name change

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that Robert Stone’s name has been officially changed to “Mr Stone” Ciampa and Stone both lost their first names this week due to Vince McMahon’s new rule that talents cannot use their actual words.

Robert Stone and Aliyah lost to Rhea Ripley at the Great American Bash
Robert Stone and Aliyah lost to Rhea Ripley at the Great American Bash (WWE)

5. Update on NXT’s new show 

NXT’s schedule calls for an In Your House show on the USA network in June and a live event on Peacock in July, but nothing is currently planned for SummerSlam weekend.

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