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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Details on Samantha Irvin’s WWE Departure
WWE ring announcer Samantha Irvin shocked the pro wrestling world Monday by announcing in a statement on X that she was leaving WWE:
Samantha Irvin @SamanthaTheBomb
pic.twitter.com/RpkLIYkpNN
Irvin made the announcement prior to Raw, and former longtime WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia filled in on Monday night’s show in Philadelphia.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestleTalk), Irvin had been considering leaving WWE “for about a year” due to her desire to expand her music career.
Irvin, 35, is an accomplished singer and flautist who has performed the national anthem at several notable events, including multiple WWE shows and a Las Vegas Raiders NFL game this month.
Despite some immediate speculation after Irvin’s announcement, Meltzer reported that she has no plans to go to AEW and is instead pursuing music, although he did not rule out the possibility of her joining AEW at some point.
Irvin is engaged to former WWE Superstar Ricochet, who left the company and made his AEW debut in August.
In response to a post on X about Irvin possibly joining him in AEW, Ricochet denied that it’s going to happen:
Ricochet @KingRicochet
Haha, she’s not coming to AEW.
You can all rest easy. 😂
PWInsider.com’s Mike Johnson also reported on Irvin leaving WWE, noting that while a “very tiny group” of people in WWE knew her departure was coming, most in the company learned of it on Monday.
In response to a post on X about Irvin informing WWE “hours before Raw” that she was resigning from her position, Irvin wrote that WWE officials knew for “months” that she intended to leave.
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding Irvin’s departure and her future plans, her tenure with WWE is over after three years, and she leaves as one of the most beloved and celebrated ring announcers in recent memory.
WWE’s Reported Feelings on Punk’s Current Run
Amid his successful return to WWE, CM Punk is reportedly receiving high marks from those within the company.
According to Fightful Select (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), WWE is “very happy” with how Punk’s return has played out and the belief is that “everything has gone really well so far.”
Fightful also noted that Punk and WWE were engaged in contract talks “a while back” in an effort to put together a more “expansive” deal than the one Punk quickly signed before his return at Survivor Series last November.
It is unclear if Punk and WWE reached any sort of agreement, but every indication is that both sides are happy with the relationship and intend to continue working together for the foreseeable future.
After receiving a huge reaction from his hometown crowd in Chicago at Survivor Series, Punk competed in the 2024 men’s Royal Rumble match, but he tore his triceps in the match, which kept him out for several months.
Even while he was injured, Punk engaged in a rivalry with Drew McIntyre, which allowed him to have a ready-made opponent upon his return.
Punk and McIntyre had a highly acclaimed three-match series, culminating with Punk beating McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood this month.
On the ensuing episode of Raw, Punk announced he would be taking some time off so he could be with his family, and although he expressed uncertainty about his future, there is little doubt that he will be back in the fold eventually as one of WWE’s top stars.
Hendry Wants to Invite Cena to TNA
At Saturday’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view Joe Hendry is set to challenge Nic Nemeth for the TNA World Championship.
Should Hendry emerge victorious and win the TNA world title for the first time, he divulged that he has some big plans in the works.
During an interview this week on Sports Central LA (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Hendry expressed his desire to bring a pro wrestling legend to TNA provided he is able to take down Nemeth:
“Let’s put it this way,” Hendry said. “If I can get my hands on the TNA World Championship, what kind of champion would I be if I didn’t invite John Cena to cross the line into TNA Wrestling? That’s just hypothetical.”
That was not the first time Hendry went on record about wanting to mix it up with Cena, as he said back in June on the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy (h/t Jayakrishna Dasappan of WrestleZone) that he wanted to wrestle Cena and believed it could happen based on the buzz he has generated in TNA and during his appearances in NXT.
Earlier this year, Cena announced that he is preparing to go on a WWE farewell tour in 2025, which will include several appearances and matches throughout the year.
An entry into the 2025 men’s Royal Rumble match is expected to be among them, and if that happens, Cena may cross paths with Hendry, who is a popular choice to be a surprise entrant in the Rumble.
Since Cena is one of the biggest stars in wrestling history and Hendry is one of the most viral current stars in the business, an interaction between them would undoubtedly get people talking.
Cena appearing on TNA programming doesn’t appear as likely, but since he is wrapping up his pro wrestling career in 2025, perhaps he would be open to doing something he’s never done before.
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