Former WWE Superstar Neville, who is now going by the name of PAC while competing on the independent scene in Japan and Europe, has been spotted in Jacksonville, Florida.
This is interesting due to the fact that the All Elite Wrestling rally is taking place in the city this afternoon at TIAA Bank Field at Parking Lot J near Gate 1. This the home of the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars, which is also owned by The Khan Family, who are backing AEW financially.
According to a report by Pwinsider.com, the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion is in the city and although his appearance at the press conference has yet to be confirmed, it’s likely.
For those who are wondering, despite the fact that WWE is airing tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live in Jacksonville, Florida, he’s not backstage at the show.
Thus, there is speculation that Neville could make an appearance at this All Elite Wrestling rally where he might make the announcement that he has signed with the newly launched promotion.
Neville departed from the WWE last year after having a long hold out in order to be released by his contract after being frustrated. Since then, he has reinvented himself while working on the indies.
It’s worth noting that Jon Alba has teased there will be several talent debuts and talent announcements at this rally.
There will be serval debuts here today and talent announcements for @AEWrestling. A couple big surprises as well you will see right out of the gate. #AEW
Chris Jericho recently on his podcast talked about how Neville turned down an offer to appear at the All In event in September.
All In was an important independent wrestling event in 2018, and there was quite a bit of talk going around that Neville will make his professional wrestling return at the event.
We instead saw him in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate where he returned under his former ring name PAC and defeated Shingo Takagi at the Korakuen Hall.
Chris Jericho talked about this topic on his Talk Is Jericho podcast with guest Sami Zayn. (H/T Michael McClead of WrestleZone)
“They tried to get him to go to All In, like over the top and he wouldn’t do it. He wanted to make his debut with Dragon Gate,” Jericho said about Neville refusing to make his return at All In.
Sami Zayn added to this by saying how disciplined he is when it comes to these things and how much he respects him.
“That’s the kind of guy he is dude, lot of love, a lot of respect for him. He’s principled. He told me straight up, a lot of money – the indies weren’t what they were when I left five years ago. Old timer in the indies back in my day [Don Cherry impression]…there wasn’t as much money on the indies and I did really well by indie standards right before I signed [with WWE]. He was telling me straight, ‘Man there’s a lot of money being offered in a lot of directions,’ but he’s never been an overly money driven guy. That’s why maybe he didn’t fit in the WWE system very much because the culture here is very overly ambitious and money and success and that has to be what takes you to the next level and he’s never really been like that. So he went back because he’s a loyal guy and he always just loved wrestling for Dragon Gate, so he went straight back to Dragon Gate.”
You can listen to the entire episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast here.
Neville In The Indies
Neville or PAC right now is doing well in the indies wrestling and has been booked for promotions like BWR Wonderland, Over the Top Wrestling and Defiant Wrestling.
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion PAC (better known as Neville) has been booked in another high-profile match-up. He will now face Will Ospreay at the Revolution Pro Wrestling “High Stakes” event in London, England from the York Hall on February 15, 2019.
This comes shortly after it was announced PAC will also be facing Zack Sabre Jr. in 2019. RevPro made the announcement official on their Twitter page over the weekend.
Whilst we are at it don’t forget HIGH STAKES 2019 mailing list pre-sale starts tomorrow & you probably don’t want to miss it… pic.twitter.com/M3zQdQsvo4
We noted last week that PAC would be appearing on the show, however, now his opponent has been finalized. He recently appeared at RevPro’s Portsmouth show, where he faced Mike Bailey. PAC will also be a part of their “Live At The Cockpit” show from The Cockpit Theatre in London, England on January 6, 2019.
He’s also slated to perform for Dragon Gate in a huge championship match against Masato Yoshino for The Dream Gate Championship. That will go down on December 4th from Korakuen Hall. Last month, PAC participated in his first match since leaving WWE. He faced Flamita in an International Special Singles match at the “The Gate Of Destiny” event for Dragon Gate. He picked up the victory in only 18 minutes after hitting the “Black Arrow.”
What do you think of PAC’s indy run since he left WWE?
Pac recently returned to the ring after a one year absence from professional wrestling. He faced Flamita in an International Special Single’s Match at the Gate of Destiny event for the Dragon Gate promotion.
You can check out the match here on Dragon Gate’s new streaming service, which was first announced by Pac himself as he appeared in the promo for the streaming service.
Pac is also set to make his return to Revolution Pro. On 22 November, Pac will be appearing for Rev Pro at the Portsmouth Guildhall. It is not known who he is going to face yet.
Posted November 13th, 2018 in News. Tagged: Neville, PAC.
PAC (former WWE Superstar Neville) has resurfaced on social media. Using a new Twitter handle KING IS DEAD (@BASTARDPAC) he fired off his first tweet since September 2017.
PAC recently returned to the ring after a one year layoff due to a dispute with WWE. He wrestled his first singles match for Dragon Gate over the weekend and is scheduled to compete for Revolution Pro later this month on November 22nd.
PAC has had his first singles match since leaving WWE. The former Neville faced Flamita in an International Special Singles Match for Dragon Gate’s ‘The Gate of Destiny’ event (11/04). PAC took the win after hitting his renamed ‘Black Arrow’ in around 18 minutes. Here’s some of the highlights from the incredible bout:
In other PAC/Neville related news Japan’s Dragon Gate promotion recently confirmed their new streaming service which featured PAC in a short promo package hyping the new over the top service alongside his RED stablemates. Fans will be able watch live/past shows for just over $13 a month. PAC made his return to the company earlier this year after leaving WWE’s 205 Live brand.
Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) has announced that PAC will be returning to the promotion. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion will be appearing at the Portsmouth Guildhall on November 22nd. Tickets for the show are available to purchase via Rev Pro’s official website here.
The company has not yet announced PAC’s opponent for the show. The Portsmouth shows for Rev Pro are big events but not on the level of their York Hall extravaganzas. It is likely that PAC will be in a top feature match but not on the level that you would expect at a venue like York Hall. With Rev Pro’s New Japan links it would be ideal for PAC to take on one of the top NJPW stars but it is more likely that he faces a Rev Pro ‘homegrown’ talent such as El Phantasmo or Josh Bodom.
Posted November 5th, 2018 in News. Tagged: Neville, PAC.
Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) has announced that PAC will be returning to the promotion. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion will be appearing at the Portsmouth Guildhall on November 22nd. Tickets for the show are available to purchase via Rev Pro’s official website here.
The company has not yet announced PAC’s opponent for the show. The Portsmouth shows for Rev Pro are big events but not on the level of their York Hall extravaganzas. It is likely that PAC will be in a top feature match but not on the level that you would expect at a venue like York Hall. With Rev Pro’s New Japan links it would be ideal for PAC to take on one of the top NJPW stars but it is more likely that he faces a Rev Pro ‘homegrown’ talent such as El Phantasmo or Josh Bodom.
In other PAC/Neville related news Japan’s Dragon Gate promotion recently confirmed their new streaming service which featured PAC in a short promo package hyping the new over the top service alongside his RED stablemates. Fans will be able watch live/past shows for just over $13 a month. PAC made his return to the company earlier this year after leaving WWE’s 205 Live brand.
Ireland’s Over The Top Wrestling (OTT) promotion has also announced a huge return for PAC. The company has not confirmed what date the high flying superstar will return but have confirmed that it will NOT be in November.
Portsmouth Guildhall we return Thursday November 22nd and PAC IS BACK!
Japan’s Dragon Gate promotion has confirmed their new streaming service. Neville/PAC appeared in a short promo package hyping the new over the top service alongside his RED stablemates. Fans will be able watch live/past shows for just over $13 a month. PAC made his return to the company earlier this year after leaving WWE’s 205 Live brand.
— Dragongate Japan Pro-Wrestling (Official English) (@DragonGateEN) October 19, 2018
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the travel packages for Wrestle Kingdom 13. Tickets to the legendary Tokyo Dome show will be available to overseas fans via the H.I.S. system on October 25th. New Japan sent out the following press release announcing the on sale date. The New Year’s Dash show will also be part of the offering for fans travelling in to Japan for January’s festivities:
“NJPW is proud to announce that Wrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo Dome and the New Year’s Dash package tour will be available through H.I.S. for our fans living overseas at 10 am JST Oct 25th. All reasonably priced packages include a ticket to Wrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo Dome and hotel accommodations! Four limited special packages are available and further detail can be found in the following link. https://www.hisgo.com/us/campaign/njpw/“
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville made a surprise appearance at Tuesday’s Dragon Gate live event from Japan. He previously worked for the company between 2007-2012 under the name PAC.
PAC’s appearance in-ring at Dragon Gate’s to join heel group RED was his first since Sept. 26, 2017 on 205 Live, he defeated Ariya Daivari on that occasion.
Reaction from 205 Live Star
The return of PAC did not go unnoticed by at least one member of the WWE locker room. 205 Live competitor Akira Tozawa took to Twitter and simply wrote “PAC.” Tozawa himself had an impressive 12 year run in Dragon Gate where he held the Open the Brave Gate, Open the Twin Gate, Open the Triangle Gate and Open the Owarai Gate Championships.
In the past WWE stars have made cryptic comments on Twitter that possibly referred to events outside the company. There’s no two ways about this message though, Tozawa is clearly referring to his former colleague from both WWE and Dragon Gate.
We reported earlier this year that WWE and Pro Wrestling NOAH had a short term working relationship with Hideo Itami returning to the Japanese company to face Naomichi Marufuji.
More Working Relationships?
There are currently no announced plans for any further ‘outside’ relationships in Japan beyond the one off Marufuji/Itami match. What if…and this is a big what if, WWE and Dragon Gate had an understanding when it came to Neville appearing? It is clear that WWE are looking to expand globally, their work on the United Kingdom series and the confirmed relationship with Germany’s wXw promotion are just the start. Dragon Gate are currently one of the smaller, albeit it well respected, companies in Japan. New Japan Pro Wrestling is still the biggest player and NOAH/Dragon Gate will still be playing second fiddle for the time being.
Neville/PAC reportedly stopped responding to independent promoter’s messages just last week. There is a very good chance that this was just a rouse to give extra impact to his Dragon Gate return, but could this be linked to WWE? This might all sound a bit far fetched but with fans being more difficult to ‘work’ in 2018 what better way than to send one of your stars out to a different promotion? You can build anticipation for a return to the ‘big time’ later down the line.
The fact that Neville/PAC appeared for Dragon Gate and not New Japan speaks a lot of the performer. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion returned to the place that helped build his career to the point of joining WWE, whilst many may have opted to make a huge return at the likes of ROH, Impact or New Japan.
Could his Dragon Gate return be linked to WWE? There’s a very good chance that is isn’t…but what if this was part of a bigger tactic to help push development for WWE into the Japanese market? We’ll have to wait and see.
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville made a surprise appearance at Tuesday’s Dragon Gate live event from Japan. He previously worked from the company between 2007-2012.
This was Neville’s first appearance at a wrestling show since October 2017, when he last appeared on WWE television. He remained under contract with WWE until this past August.
The former ‘King of the Cruiserweights’ is expected to resume using the name PAC, which he used prior to joining WWE.
Now that he is back in the ring, it will be very interesting to see what other companies he winds up working with in the months ahead.
Here are some photos and videos from Neville’s return:
In 4 days it will be a full calendar year since Neville (FKA Pac) will have competed in a professional wrestling match. That was an October 1st 205 Live house show match against Enzo Amore. Neville won the match via DQ but failed to regain his lost WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
Then Neville left WWE despite still being under contract. WWE didn’t want to set the precedent that guys could just walk out and be granted a release, so he remained on the sidelines.
According to WWE, Neville has now been granted his release and is free to wrestle wherever, whenever, and against whoever he pleases. Despite this, Neville has gone “off the grid” and is not responding to bookers, wrestlers, or many within the wrestling business who have been attempting to contact him.
Where Is Neville/Pac?
Will Ospreay was hoping he would be able to wrestle Neville at WrestleKingdom this year but his interest in the match appears to be one-sided. His situation was addressed in the most recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
“(Neville) was in talks with some promotions but told them he wasn’t ready to start yet, citing legal issues,” Dave Meltzer wrote. “He’s then completely gone off the grid and hasn’t responded to promoters as best we can tell. Will Ospreay wanted to do a singles match with him at Wrestle Kingdom but we have no idea if he’s up for that or anything in wrestling right now.”
It had previously been reported that the “legal issues” Neville had cited was his contract status with WWE, which the promotion denies is the case.
Posted September 27th, 2018 in News. Tagged: Neville, PAC.
Three weeks ago, it was reported that Neville was no longer under contract to WWE. Despite this, there are also reports Neville is turning down bookings saying he is not contractually free to work for other promotions. Neville’s contractual status with WWE was addressed in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
“WWE has told us that he is free and clear to work anywhere he wants,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “When he has been contacted by promoters, he has said that he can’t accept dates yet but will be able to very soon.”
There was speculation that Neville may have been asked to participate in All In as well. It is not yet clear when Neville will begin to take non-WWE bookings.
Neville Contractual Status
It will be almost one year since Neville has wrestled a match. His last contest was a DQ victory over Cruiserweight Champion, Enzo Amore. The match took place on an October 1st, 2017 house show. Neville is then said to have walked out on the company. He is believed to have been unhappy with the company’s creative plans for him.
Tama Tonga of Bullet Club’s Firing Squad recently said he’s interested in bringing in the wrestler FKA Pac into his stable.
“I know Neville and I’ve followed his work,” Tonga said. “He’s a phenomenal worker and he’s been here in New Japan before, I watched him in the Super Juniors in 2012. I love his work.”
Where do you expect Neville to turn up next?
Posted September 14th, 2018 in News, WWE. Tagged: Neville.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Tama Tonga spoke to Sports Illustrated recently and discussed several professional wrestling topics. Tonga is one of the founding members of The Bullet Club. The faction is probably the largest, in terms of numbers, in professional wrestling right now.
Over the years, members of the group have come and gone. However, Tonga believes The Bullet Club’s current members have to prove their loyalties. With some stars’ contracts coming up, and potential WWE moves on the horizon, Tonga is ready to see who is really all in with Bullet Club:
“There is only one Bullet Club, and we’re fighting for it,” Tonga said. “This ignited in San Fran, and we’re at war for Bullet Club. This is where we’re at, it’s the North vs. the South fighting for the United States.
“You have their side—the ROH side—against the Japan side of me, [Bad Luck] Fale, and [Tanga] Loa. Bullet Club was born in New Japan, but the Young Bucks ain’t signed in New Japan. Cody ain’t signed in New Japan. Adam Page and Marty Scurll ain’t signed with New Japan. From my understanding, a lot of them are becoming free agents at the end of this year. So, let’s see, who really is Bullet Club?”
Recruiting Neville
Recently, at the G1 special, Kenny Omega challenged Tonga while cutting a promo. Tonga is looking to bolster up his supporting crew for his feud against “The Cleaner,” and has his eye on one recently-released WWE star:
“I love always love a challenge,” Tonga said. “Kenny Omega did a promo during the G1 and said, ‘Tama, you think you can do better than me? You think you can push Bullet Club to new levels, higher ones than I did? Go ahead and prove it.’ Challenge accepted.
“I know Neville and I’ve followed his work. He’s a phenomenal worker and he’s been here in New Japan before, I watched him in the Super Juniors in 2012. I love his work.”
What do you think about Neville potentially joining The Bullet Club?
October 2017 was the month where Neville decided to stop competing for the WWE. More on why Neville stop competing for WWE can be read here.
No Walk Outs Allowed
Reports have stated that Neville was unhappy with WWE creative and wanted out of his WWE contract. The belief was that Neville was heading to New Japan Pro Wrestling and would not finish his obligation with the WWE. Many WWE officials wanted to prevent the notion that talent who are under contract can stop working for the company “when they feel like it” and wrestle for another promotion.
Neville’s Future
As a free agent, Neville is free to wrestle for any promotion he wants as he has “served” his time with WWE. Many rumors have been speculating that Neville may appear at the highly anticipated indy event “All In”. Many people in the wrestling community have expressed their opinions on Neville appearing at “All In”. You can read about Sean Waltman’s/X-Pac’s thoughts on Neville appearing at “All In” here.
After it was reported last week that Neville is no longer under contract to WWE, his WWE.com profile has been moved to the Alumni section — in between MVP and Papa Shango.
Although WWE has not issued an official statement regarding Neville’s departure from the organization, the company confirmed to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline that he is no longer under contract to WWE. Meltzer also noted that Neville is free to wrestle elsewhere.
– Alexa Bliss, Seth Rollins, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella and Lilian Garcia are among the celebrity guests scheduled to appear at ACE Comic Con Midwest on Friday, October 12 at Chicago’s Navy Pier. Fans will have the opportunity to meet all five wrestling stars as they will be signing autographs and doing photo-ops. Garcia will also moderate Q&A panels with Bliss, Rollins, and The Bella Twins.
– It was on this day in 2012 when Seth Rollins beat Jinder Mahal to be crowned the inaugural NXT Champion. The official Twitter account of the WWE Network posted a clip from their encounter.
WoS General Manager Stu Bennett recently called out a former WWE Superstar to appear on the show.
We reported over the weekend that Neville is no longer contracted to WWE. The former Cruiserweight Champion now appears to be a free agent and everyone wants the Geordie, including NJPW’s Will Ospreay.
You can now add Stu Bennett to that list. The WoS General Manager took to Twitter to state “Yo Neville. I’ve got a bunch of lads at@WOSWrestling who are asking to fight you.. Check it out on @ITVat 5pm today & you can pick your opponent.”
Whilst the likelihood of the former WWE showing up in a pre-taped show is very unlikely there’s certainly scope for him to join the ranks of WoS down the line. There has been no official word on whether the show will be renewed and the ratings are still up for interpretation success wise.
Change to 4:30pm
It has also been confirmed that WoS will now be airing at a new time-slot as of September 1st. The show has been moved to the 4:30-5:30pm block. Whilst the numbers haven’t been stellar at the 5pm block the show has been gaining over the last few weeks. Whether the change in time slot will affect ratings remains to be seen.
Will Ospreay has called shotgun on facing Neville first now that the wrestler formerly known as Pac is a free agent.
Last night, it was reported that Neville is no longer contracted to WWE. His pending return to the independents and non-WWE promotions has wrestlers and wrestling fans alike excited.
Few details are available at the moment as it concerns how Neville’s time with WWE ended. It’s possible that his contract ended but it is also possible he and the company came to an agreement on his early release.
It does appear, however, that Cody and the Young Bucks were aware ahead of time before news broke. The members of the Elite dropped a few hints through social media in the days leading up to the news breaking.
Matt Jackson and Cody’s talk regarding Neville may have been a coincidence or it may not have been.
It has been over 6 years since Neville was a free agent. He began his career with WWE in mid-2012 and debuted in NXT that October. During his time with NXT, he won the NXT title once and the tag-team championships twice, once with Oliver Grey and once with Corey Graves. On the main roster, he was a former 2x Cruiserweight Champion but is believed to have become unsatisfied with his role, the product, or both.
His last match in WWE was on October 7th, 2017. He defeated Enzo Amore by DQ at a 205 Live house show.
Neville has finally been released from WWE, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. The former Cruiserweight Champion has been off television for nearly a year.
Last fall, it was widely reported that Neville was unhappy with his creative direction. He allegedly walked out of the October 9th, 2017 episode of Monday Night Raw after learning that he would have to lose to Enzo Amore on the show.
Instead of releasing him, WWE opted to keep him under contract. This prevented the Man that Gravity Forgot from working with other promotions.
Neville reportedly had a few rounds of negotiations with WWE over the past year. Unfortunately, nothing ever came of it and one of the top wrestlers in the world has been needlessly sitting on the sidelines during the prime of his career.
No word yet on what is next for Neville. It goes without saying that he will have no trouble finding work and is definitely a talent to keep an eye on in the months ahead.
Shortly after the news of Neville’s free agency was reported, several wrestlers took notice on Twitter. New Japan Pro Wrestling star Will Ospreay called ‘first dibs’ on a match with Neville.
Triple H spoke about the current status of former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville as well as potentially using him for the upstart WWE NXT UK brand.
“The Game” took part in a media conference call to promote the upcoming NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV event that takes place on Saturday, August 18, 2018 in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center and will air on the WWE Network.
In this call, he was asked if Neville would be a great fit for that brand, which Triple H noted that he’s not 100% positive about the current status of Neville and would need to go back to look into. However, he did agree that Neville would be a good fit for the division as he thinks that the former Cruiserweight Champion is one of the most talented guys in the world.
He would add that he loved the time that Neville was in NXT as he did a great job while on the brand and building the Cruiserweight division on 205 Live. Triple H finished up his answer by stating that time will see where that ends up regarding Neville’s status.
If you recall, back in mid-October, Neville was initially scheduled to lose to Enzo Amore in a lumberjack match on RAW. However, plans changed to Kalisto wrestling Amore and Neville decided to take time off. WWE has officially denied that he quit the promotion. At the time, it was reported that Neville was frustrated by the direction of his character.
As of a few months ago, the belief within the WWE is that the company would not grant Neville his release and will make him sit out the remainder of his contract. Once that deal has expired, then he will have a 90 days non-compete. The latest update on this situation is the fact that WWE had decided to freeze his contract until both sides could come to an agreement. In the meantime, Neville is not permitted to wrestle for any outside promotions as he still remains technically under a WWE contract.
Reigning WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander has taken a shot at the former champ, Neville. Alexander was responding to comments beneath the video he posted below when the topic of Neville came up.
There have been no updates as to Neville’s status with WWE. The last anyone saw of him he had returned to the UK where he was spotted at the Mid Breath Gym on July 10th, 2018.
The last match he wrestled for the company was on October 1st, 2017. He defeated Enzo Amore on a house show via DQ in a match for the Cruiserweight Championship that night.
Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander vs Former Cruiserweight Champions
This isn’t the first time Cedric Alexander has taken a shot at a departed champion on Twitter. During a back-and-forth with Lio Rush, Alexander took a shot at Enzo Amore as well.
“This coming from the kid who wants to be a fake rapper,” Alexander Tweeted at Lio Rush. “We had one of those on 205Live. You wanna end up like him? I suggest you watch your mouth youngster.”
Alexander won the Cruiserweight Championship following a 16-man single-elimination tournament earlier this year. The tournament was scheduled by 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick following the title being vacated when Enzo Amore was released by the company.
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville has surfaced online.
The WWE star appeared this week on the Mid Breath Gym’s Instagram page, which marked his first public appearance in any form on social media since his dispute with the WWE that started back in 2017. You can see the photo here:
It all started once Neville initially scheduled to lose to Enzo Amore in a lumberjack match on RAW in mid-October. However, plans changed to Kalisto wrestling Amore and Neville decided to take time off. WWE has officially denied that he quit the promotion.
At the time, it was reported that Neville was frustrated by the direction of his character, the lack of pay-offs and the rough WWE life on the road. It was also noted that Neville had pushed for his WWE release with the idea of working the indies and making a name for himself there.
As of a few months ago, the belief within the WWE is that the company will not grant Neville his release and will make him sit out the remainder of his contract. Once that deal has expired, then he will have a 90 days non-compete.
Since then, there have been rumors that Neville and WWE were once again talking about how to resolve their differences. With Triple H in creative control of 205 Live, there was speculation that could play a factor in Neville’s return to the WWE but obviously, that is not the case.
The latest update on this situation is the fact that WWE had decided to freeze his contract until both sides could come to an agreement. In the meantime, Neville is not permitted to wrestle for any outside promotions as he still remains technically under a WWE contract.
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville’s wife, Natalie Satterley, recently took to Instagram to indicate that the couple has moved from Florida and returned to their native U.K.
Dave Meltzer did in fact note in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Neville has moved back to the U.K., meaning a return to WWE his highly unlikely at this point. Here’s what Satterley posted on her account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf-wFtKh9UA/
Neville hasn’t been with WWE since last October when he grew frustrated with his place in the company. He was originally scheduled to be defeated by then-Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore on RAW, but decided to leave the company after learning of the finish.
Instead, Amore wound up losing the title to Kalisto. Neville has been lobbying for his release from WWE since walking out but has been unsuccessful thus far. He is currently still under WWE contract and his deal is frozen at the moment.
It’s unknown if he’s still being paid since his contract is frozen, but Dave Meltzer speculates that he likely isn’t. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…
The announcement of Daniel Bryan’s return to WWE in a competitive capacity has kicked the excitement of the road to WrestleMania into high gear. In previous years, the road to WrestleMania has been a mixed bag, but the late addition of Daniel Bryan to the card has all but guaranteed this year’s show will be one to remember.
The prospect of a healthy Daniel Bryan presents countless ‘dream match’ scenarios. Aside from “I can’t believe this is really happening” battles against likes of The Miz, Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar – we’re taking a look at 3
Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy was once touted as the next big megastar in WWE, whilst his run as WWE Champion left a lot to be desired and his personal issues caused a massive rift between himself and the company he is now seemingly back (pending any fallout from his recent legal issues). Although Hardy is technically a RAW Superstar there is definitely sense in moving him over to the Blue brand potentially alongside his ‘Broken’ brother Matt.
Hardy’s experience and penchant for the extreme could mesh well with the more technical style of Bryan, assuming that Bryan will venture more into a mat based style to appease any looming doubts from WWE’s top brass. This could be an extremely intriguing bout between two veteran performers who stood near the top of the mountain in their own ‘eras’ and could be a perfect ‘left field’ bout to give Bryan between some of these mega dream matches.
Neville
Neville
We have not seen the ‘King of The Cruiserweights’ for a long time…but there is no reason to expect anything other than a return to a WWE ring for the UK Superstar in the near future. This could be great way to transition Neville into the ‘Heavyweight’ division, giving him the opportunity to over-power the beloved Bryan and continue to establish his villainous persona on the main roster shows of either Smackdown or RAW.
This could be a technical masterclass from two stars who have worked across the UK, Europe and Japan and could essentially elevate Neville to the ranks of upper mid carder…somewhere he could thrive.
Pete Dunne
The WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne has a lot in common with NXT General Manager William Regal, a man who had some exceptional matches with Daniel Bryan in his career. Whilst the comparisons to Regal are well earned it is important to remember that the young UK Superstar has a huge amount of upside potential and has been crafting his ‘Bruiserweight’ persona across the United Kingdom for PROGRESS, ICW and Rev Pro et al for the past several years in his own right.
This has ‘technical masterpiece’ written all over it, a real chance to show that Dunne can ‘go’ on the biggest stages and having him compete against a star the stature of Bryan would do wonders for his career. Out of the three matches listed this would be the least likely but certainly the most important in terms of helping to build upon the creation of a new star.
Who would you like Bryan to face? Let us know in the comments.
Back in September/October of 2017, Neville lost his Cruiserweight Championship to the ‘new kid on the block’ Enzo Amore, who had split up with Big Cass and been placed on 205 Live.
WWE’s decision to favor Amore over Neville upset the King of the Cruiserweights who refused to attend anymore WWE events after he was scheduled to lose to Amore on RAW’s October 9th episode.
Since then his contract has been frozen, much like Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio, preventing him from appearing anywhere else until his contract with WWE has fully expired.
WWE have been looking to open up communications with the former Cruiserweight Champion, but nothing was ever formalized as channels broke down.
The last public statement from Neville was made on Twitter as he trashed a new shirt that was released at the end of September. Although it’s hard to separate this tweet from the rest of his social media account which criticizes almost everything as per his in ring persona.
However, now that Enzo Amore has been released due to allegations of sexual assault, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that new communications have been established to bring Neville back to WWE.
While there are no details, it is said that he won’t return until some point during April.
Opinion/Discussion:
The most interesting question to discuss is around Neville’s role within WWE if he were to return. He was the dominant champion in 205 Live, but with the new structure of the show, will he return as he was, or move up to RAW or SmackDown Live?
It’s been well documented that the former Cruiserweight Champion was initially scheduled to lose to Enzo Amore in a lumberjack match on Raw in mid-October. However, plans changed to Kalisto wrestling Amore when Neville never showed up to TV that week. WWE has officially denied that he quit the promotion. At the time, it was reported that Neville was frustrated by the direction of his character, the lack of pay-offs and the rough WWE life on the road. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion has reportedly been “miserable in WWE” since January of last year. It’s been reported that Neville had pushed for his WWE release with the idea of working the indies and making a name for himself there.
In an update, Dave Meltzer noted on Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Radio that Neville is still under contract with the WWE but wants out of the company. It was also noted that WWE will not grant him his release and will make him sit out the remainder of his contract.
