A former WWE tag team has shown that they are as unified as ever despite being released from the promotion a few years ago.
In April 2020, WWE began a new strategy of releasing talents in massive waves, which at the time was explained to talent as being due to “budget cuts.”
Many found the reasoning to be fishy, as the time of the releases was also a time when the company was recording the biggest profits and highest earnings.
Sanity
Members of Sanity were just some of the names cut as part of these waves, with Killian Dain being cut in June 2021.
This week, Dain, back under the name Big Damo, lost the PROGRESS Atlas Championship to Ricky Knight.
Post-match, Axel Tischer, formerly Alexander Wolfe in WWE, appeared to congratulate his Sanity comrade.
Axel Tischer has made his way to the ring to congraulate Big Damo on all the success he has had recently.
The current Impact Wrestling World Champion Eric Young recently appeared on Sitting Ringtside with David Penzer podcast where he talked about his WWE release and more.
Many believe WWE missed a big opportunity with the Sanity faction led by the current Impact Champion when they made their debut on the main roster back in June 2018.
During the interview, Young revealed that the original plans for the group’s debut were different and they were originally going to debut a week earlier:
“We were supposed to be with New Day and during the show which was our debut. The main event was an 8 man or a 6 man, I can’t remember, but it was 3 guys vs New Day.
New Day was going over and then our music would hit and we would stand at the top of the ring to end SmackDown and that would be the first time you see us. SmackDown would go off the air with the three of us standing there.”
However, the match involving the New Day went longer and according to Eric Young, producers then decided to nix their planned debut because they didn’t have enough time.
Sanity ended up debuting a week later, attacking the Usos before their match but the company did not have any long term plans for the group and they got disbanded less than a year later in April 2019 during the drafts.
A number of teams broke up during the Superstar Shakeup this
year but probably the most disappointing of them all was the disbanding of
Sanity.
The team had great potential but were rarely used on WWE TV after their main roster debut on SmackDown Live last year. They were disbanded after their leader Eric Young was moved to Raw.
Shortly after this, another member of the faction in Alexander Wolfe was shifted back to Europe to work on NXT UK and it appears that the last member of the faction won’t be staying around the Blue Branded Show either.
According to reports from Wrestling Observer, Killian Dain, who is also the husband of the group’s former member Nikki Cross is being moved back to NXT and could make an appearance at Full Sail soon.
This is surprising news as WWE went to some length to keep couples together during the Superstar Shakeup and they even backed out from a number of roster moves so couples like Andrade and Charlotte Flair could stay together.
However, reports suggest that Cross will be a part of Raw
roster moving forward and it will be interesting to see how this affects the
relationship of these two stars.
The Superstar Shake-Up has seemingly brought about the end of WWE’s oft-overlooked and forgotten SaNITy stable. Its members were separated across both RAW and SmackDown, with the group’s former leader, Eric Young, ending up as one of the newest members of the red brand.
Posting on his Instagram account, Eric Young addressed his move to Monday Night RAW, claiming he has “never been one of the chosen,” before promising that this move will allow him the opportunity to show the WWE Universe what he’s capable of.
“I have never been one of the chosen! My path has never been easy! History will show you I ALWAYS END UP ON TOP! I have done it all and will DO WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT! Time to show the world AGAIN! #worldclassmaniac”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwaCM1OH7RB/
Finding Sanity
Since the Shake-Up took place earlier this week, his fellow SaNITy members have also commented on the situation.
Both Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe took to their social media accounts to express their feelings on the matter.
Despite not being officially disbanded, the way that all three Superstars address the situation gives the unmistakable impression that SaNITy is done.
During their time on NXT, the group would not only win the NXT tag team championships but also be recognised as the NXT Tag Team of the year in 2017. The initial impact the group enjoyed during their tenure in NXT was never replicated during their main roster run.
The first night of WWE’s 2019 Superstar Shakeup saw 17 SmackDown Live stars moved to the Raw brand.
Most of the moves were impactful, with Raw newcomers such as AJ Styles, Andrade, The Usos and Lacey Evans picking up impressive wins. Others such as Rey Mysterio and EC3 had rough nights, getting beat up by the likes of red brand monsters Lars Sullivan and Braun Strowman.
Cedric Alexander got a video package announcing his move to Raw, while Sanity leader Eric Young got a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ inclusion on an on-screen graphic.
As the leader of the SaNITy, Eric Young’s move to Raw effectively disbands the faction that was hot in NXT but never quite found its footing on the main roster.
SaNITy member Killian Dain commented on the situation on Twitter, telling former partners Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe that he will miss them both terribly. He called both men phenomenal inside and outside the ring and thanked the fans for supporting them while they were together.
Now, Dain took it a step further by clearly asking if is something that he said that didn’t sit well with the WWE. He asked why he wasn’t booked when the rest of the stable where in SmackDown and his wife Nikki Cross was at Raw.
“Last night my tag partners where with Smackdown in Vancouver and my wife with Raw in Regina. Whereas I’m….at home.
The group had moved to the main roster on SmackDown Live in July last year and they have been barely used since. The stable was doing quite well in NXT and it was expected that we would get to see more of them on the main roster, but it seemed like WWE had basically nothing for them.
Dain’s frustration is understandable as the group has a lot of potential and can be quite entertaining on WWE TV if used correctly. We will have to wait and see if the company responds to Dain’s concerns in a positive way.
The internet has recently been flooded with the news of a number of WWE Superstars being unhappy with their position in the company and a couple of latest tweets add some more names to this list.
Killian Dain of the SmackDown faction Sanity recently made a tweet asking where Sanity has been. Fellow group member Alexander Wolfe replied to it with a tweet of his own and expressed similar frustration.
WWE first announced the main roster call up of Sanity during the Superstar Shakeup in April last year and the group made their debut on SmackDown Live in July.
However, while they were quite popular in NXT, it seemed like the company has no solid plans for them on the main roster as the group has been used sparingly since their arrival.
The last time they were seen on WWE TV was during the December 18th episode of SmackDown Live where they teamed up with The Bar in a losing effort to The Usos, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows.
With the treatment they have received on the main roster, it’s easy to imagine that the members of Sanity are unhappy with their position in the company.
However, in the current environment, it’s hard to say if this thing is a work or shoot and we’ll have to wait and see how the situation develops following these comments from the SmackDown Stars.
Posted February 1st, 2019 in WWE, News. Tagged: SAnitY.
While Sanity was not part of this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, the trio competed in a dark match before the show started, against what appears to be a newly formed tag team.
Before SmackDown went on air, R-Truth and Tye Dillinger came out as a tag team. They faced the former NXT Stars in a match and for the surprise of many, defeated Sanity into the bout.
As noted before, General Manager Paige announced on SmackDown Live that Sanity will be going against the Usos and Rusev Day on next week’s episode of the show, as part of the ongoing tournament to determine the New Day’s next challenger.
Booker T On Possibly Teaming Up With New Day In Future
The opening segment on this week’s SmackDown saw Booker T returning to WWE Television and welcoming the New Day into the 5 times Champion club after they won the SDLive tag team titles last week.
The segment not only featured a promo but Booker also did his famous spinaroonie and all the members of the New Day followed the former WCW Star.
After the show, WWE posted the following video where the Hall Of Famer talks about the New Day trying the spineroonie and if we can expect him to team up with The Tag Champs sometime in future:
Luke Harper was a guest recently on Edge and Christian’s podcast. Edge mentioned that Harper can play many different roles in WWE, including wrestling in main events. Harper mentioned he just tries to make whatever he is given the best it can be.
“I’ve tried to make it a thing where somebody in WWE wants me or needs me there,” Harper said. “If I do my job well then that becomes a thing and I just try to make it a reality, I guess. I’m just trying to not get released, you know?”
Luke Harper Compares Sanity to the Wyatt Family
Harper continued to talk about the Smackdown tag-team division. The Usos were mentioned specifically as a team who have tweaked their characters and taken their game to a new level.
Edge would later talk about how the Bludgeon Brothers are a tweaked version of the previous version of their team.
“Every team has its own thing going,” Harper said of the Smackdown tag division. “Nobody’s much alike at all… except Sanity is kind of like the Wyatt Family but we’ll just keep that to ourselves.”
After making the joke, Harper would continue to say he has nothing against the faction. He mentioned he worked with Eric Young on the indies.
“I worked with Eric on the indies a couple times and had some of my best matches,” he said. “For him to come back around now in 2018, it’s exciting for me to think about that too.”
Earlier this week, Smackdown General Manager Paige announced a tag-team tournament. The winners will receive a title shot against the Bludgeon Brothers. She has now released the names of the 4 teams which will be participating in the tournament.
The Usos, New Day, Sanity, and the Bar are all entered. The most notable team not included in the tournament is Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows. A possible reason the team wasn’t included in the tournament is that they have already lost two title matches on television to the current champions.
Smackdown Tag Team Division vs Raw Tag Team Division
Although the SD tag division consists of fewer teams than Raw’s, it arguably has the stronger ones. New Day are the longest reigning tag champions of all-time, the Usos are arguably the hottest tag-team on the roster, and Cesaro and Sheamus are multi-time champions as well.
Meanwhile, on Raw, the titles are currently held by Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. The B-Team defeated the Deleter of Worlds at Extreme Rules for the belts. Other Raw tag-teams include the Revival, the Authors of Pain, Ascension, Titus Worldwide, and Breezeango.
Paige As Smackdown General Manager
Paige took over as Smackdown General Manager on the first episode after WrestleMania. The night before on Raw, Paige announced she was not medically cleared to compete. It’s possible she never competes in a WWE ring again but she doesn’t seem to be abandoning hope.
Prior to Paige’s appointment, the show had been run by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan. After Bryan’s reinstatement as a wrestler, however, he stepped down as brand GM. Shane McMahon stepped away from the role after WrestleMania as well, citing his problems with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens as a reason why.
As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Omaha, NE at the CenturyLink Center Omaha on the USA Network, SAnitY attacked The New Day during the Pancake Eating Contest, which has started a feud between the two groups.
After the show, WWE released this video of Renee Young trying to get answers from Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe, and Eric Young, which led to Dain saying that they are anarchy and Wolfe said they are the disorder. You can watch it here:
Alexa Bliss’ Reaction
Nia Jax will challenge Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women’s Title at the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view event in an Extreme Rules Match. Bliss has since taken to her official Twitter account to react to the stipulation being added to the match:
I have turned every single opportunity into a championship. EVERY SINGLE ONE! I hope everyone enjoys this long, wonderful #MomentOfBliss…because it’ll only continue after #ExtremeRules.
— Lexi (Kaufman) Cabrera (@AlexaBliss_WWE) July 3, 2018
What are your thoughts on these two groups feuding? Sound off in the comment section.
There were two dark matches on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live and they both consisted former Champions from NXT who have recently debuted on the main roster.
The first match saw the former NXT Champion Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas continuing his rivalry with Sin Cara as he defeated the Masked Star in a one on one match before the show started.
Though there was no clear winner in the second dark match of the night and the match between Sanity and The New Day which took place after cameras stopped rolling ended in a double disqualification after both the teams collided in the ring.
It’s worth mentioning here that this wasn’t the first time these two teams met during the night as Sanity interrupted New Day’s pancake eating contest and attacked the former Tag Champs during the broadcast of the Blue Branded show.
After the event, the trio lead by Eric Young was interviewed by Renee Young. She asked them about the reason behind the attack and replying to it Eric said that they don’t need to explain anything:
So far the trio does not have any announced match for Extreme Rules but it appears that WWE is building towards Sanity vs. New Day bout for the upcoming PPV.
However, the same cannot be said about Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and it’s hard to say whether WWE will have him compete in a match at the upcoming show or not.
Members of the group SAnitY have reacted to making their debut on the blue brand.
As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Toledo, OH at the Huntington Center on the USA Network, the group was supposed faced off against The Usos in a tag team match. However, they beat down the former SmackDown Tag Team Champions and there was no match.
Following the show, Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe took to their official Twitter accounts to react to their main roster television debut. They wrote the following:
WWE NXT General Manager William Regal is slated to make his return to television, according to Mike Johnson of PWinsider.
Regal, who has missed the last few tapings due to a health issue, is set to work this Thursday’s NXT TV tapings in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
What do you think WWE should do with the former NXT stable?
SAnitY has finally made their WWE television debut as members of the main roster.
As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Toledo, OH at the Huntington Center on the USA Network, the group was supposed faced off against The Usos in a tag team match. However, they beat down the former SmackDown Tag Team Champions and there was no match.
If you recall, the sports entertainment company decided to call up the group that consists of Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe from NXT to the main roster and placed them on the SmackDown brand shortly after WrestleMania 34 in April.
WWE has aired vignettes to hype their debut since then. They recently made their live event debut earlier this month at a live event in Waco, Texas.
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on the creative plans in place for them by the sports entertainment company.
What do you think WWE should do with the former NXT stable?
Posted June 19th, 2018 in WWE, News. Tagged: SAnitY.
For the past several weeks WWE has been teasing the SmackDown Live debut of former NXT Tag Team Champions SAnitY. Now, the promotion has officially announced that the faction will be making their official main roster debut on tonight’s (Tues. June 19, 2018) episode of SmackDown Live.
They’ll face some steep competition in former three-time SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions The Usos:
“For weeks, the impending arrival of SAnitY has been hanging over SmackDown LIVE. No one knew what the chaotic crew of Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe and the monstrous Killian Dain had in store for Team Blue after joining during the Superstar Shake-up, but the wait is over, as they will be making their debut tonight.
“SAnitY isn’t wasting any time, either, as they’ll be taking on The Usos in their first match on SmackDown LIVE. Will The Usos put the newcomers in their place, or will chaos reign in SAnitY’s arrival? “
Posted June 19th, 2018 in WWE, News. Tagged: SAnitY.
SAnitY has finally made their WWE main roster debut.
WWE held a live event on Saturday night in Waco, Texas. At the show, the former NXT stable made their main roster debut when Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe took on Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows in a tag team match but lost by DQ once Killian Dain interfered.
If you recall, the sports entertainment company decided to call up the group that consists of Young, Dain, and Wolfe from NXT to the main roster and placed them on the SmackDown brand shortly after WrestleMania 34 in April.
Although they have yet to make their television debut on the blue brand, WWE has aired vignettes to hype their debut.
WWE again aired a “coming soon” promo for SAnitY’s upcoming debut on SmackDown Live. Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain took to Twitter and noted they want to “purge” Tuesday nights:
Former WWE Superstar Darren Young has uploaded a new vlog on his YouTube channel, including footage from a recent convention appearance. Young, real name Fred Rosser, is now going by the name “Mr. No Days Off” on the independent circuit:
Some more names have been announced for SmackDown’s roster during WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up tonight. The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) were shown in a video promo during the show and they announced that they will be joining the SmackDown roster. Sheamus & Cesaro are still set to battle Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt for the vacant RAW Tag Team Championships at WWE Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27th.
A brief video promo was shown featuring Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega. The former NXT Champion and his business associate will also be joining the SmackDown roster.
WWE aired a vignette during SmackDown that said that chaos was coming to SmackDown. This was in reference to SAnitY joining the blue brand. It was not confirmed at the time whether all members of SAnitY would be joining the main roster.
Right before the main event of SmackDown, WWE showed the following image that featured Eric Young, Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe. SAnitY’s Nikki Cross was not in the image and it does not appear that she will joining the main roster at this time.
During tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown, Daniel Bryan was interviewed backstage by Renee Young. Bryan was asked why he helped AJ Styles earlier after Rusev and Aiden English attacked him. Bryan said that he helped AJ because he respected him.
Big Cass then showed up and towered over Bryan. Cass mocked Bryan’s size and called him “little man” before walking away.
Big Cass tore his ACL in a Brooklyn Street Fight against Enzo Amore on the August 21st episode of WWE RAW.
SAnitY Is Coming To SmackDown
WWE also aired the following vignette on SmackDown that confirmed former NXT Tag Team Champions SAnitY will be called up to the main roster. WWE only showed Killian Dain, Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe in a promotional image later on the show. It appears that Nikki Cross will remain in NXT for now.
Charlotte battled Billie Kay tonight on SmackDown. Charlotte won the match, but was attacked by Peyton Royce and Carmella. Becky Lynch jumped in the ring, but the numbers game caught up to her and the IIconics & Carmella attacked her as well.
Asuka then sprinted down to the ring as Carmella retreated. Asuka booted Billie Kay and then planted Peyton Royce with a German Suplex. Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Asuka stood tall in the ring as Carmella looked worried on the entrance ramp.
The big storyline over on Monday Night RAW is the reuniting of The Shield, and fans are hoping to see as many epic match-ups for the beloved trio as possible before they go their separate ways again. The Shield officially reunited on last night’s (Mon. October 9, 2017) Monday Night RAW, and current NXT Tag Tam Champions SAnitY (Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe and Nikki Cross) seem to be interested in colliding with “The Hounds Of Justice.”
Wolfe took to Twitter to respond to The Shield’s segment on RAW in which they took out The Miz, Curtis Axel, and The Bar, teasing a possible match-up down the road:
– The WWE’s Battleground pay-per-view (PPV) will play host to a Fatal Five-Way match between Tamina, Lana, Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Natalya to determine the new No. 1-contender for Naomi’s SmackDown Live Women’s Championship. Per a report from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Charlotte Flair is expected to win the match and her ‘heel edge’ as of late on Tuesday nights is expected to play a part in her feud with Naomi.
– The past few weeks on SmackDown Live, the team of Breezango has been involved in a storyline in which somebody has been trashing their offices. It is expected that the culprits are going to be revealed at Battleground to confront Breezango. The Observer reports that SAnitY is expected to be the team that has been messing with Breezango over the past few weeks, and are set to make their main roster debut.
This would bee weird timing, however, as SAnitY is set to compete for the NXT Tag Team Championships against the Authors of Pain at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. It was also speculated that Luke Harper and Erick Rowan could be reuniting in order to feud with Breezango.
Discussion: Who do you think will be the team that is revealed as Breezango’s hecklers?