WWE News: Main Roster Superstar Moved To ‘NXT’
Mike Kanellis’ WWE future has been up in the air ever since he requested his release from the company last year, but he appears to be sticking around for the foreseeable future. As documented by WrestlingNews.co, the Monday Night Raw superstar has been moved to NXT after impressing officials at a recent live event.
The reportedly unhappy superstar paired up with Tony Nese to defeat Mohamed Fahim and Nick Ogarelli in a tag team match. As noted by the report, the match was Kanellis’ first time competing in the squared circle since last September, when he lost to Chad Gable in a matter of seconds at a SmackDown event.
As The Inquisitr previously shared, Kanellis reportedly wanted out of his WWE contract due to a lack of wrestling opportunities, coupled with some personal issues. Prior to being taken off of television, he was involved in a storyline with his pregnant wife Maria, in which she claimed to have cheated on him with random WWE superstars.
Kanellis also revealed that he felt let down by the company for not seeing the storyline through, as they instead opted to focus on a similar idea with the current love triangle soap opera involving Lana, Rusev, and Bobby Lashley. Some pundits have interpreted the Kanellis storyline as a precursor to the latter.
More than anything, though, Kanellis has wanted to wrestle as he feels that he’s in his prime. By joining NXT, he’ll hopefully have more opportunities to showcase his talent in the squared circle, without being forced to take losses against other performers on a weekly basis.
When he and Maria joined WWE in 2017, they were immediately put on the main roster, and they struggled to find momentum from the get-go. However, he signed a five-year contract last year, which suggests that the company sees him as an asset.
Of course, nothing is ever certain in WWE. In fact, The Inquisitr recently reported that Kanellis was one of several superstars who were supposedly set to be released by the company. It remains to be seen if the move to NXT is an attempt to rejuvenate his career, or if it’s just a temporary placement until WWE’s next round of cost-cutting.
However, Kanellis was a big star outside of WWE after finding success in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. WWE might want to keep him since he could be useful for a rival promotion, such as All Elite Wrestling.
