WWE: Mike Kanellis returns from hiatus, moving to NXT?
Mike Kanellis made his return from hiatus at an NXT house show. Does this mean he is moving to WWE’s third brand for a fresh start?
Mike Kanellis has been on hiatus from WWE TV for the past four months. The last time he wrestled on television (or, at all, actually) was on a Sept. 24 episode of Friday Night SmackDown where he lost to Chad Gable in 19 seconds.
Then, a couple weeks later, after being on a losing streak and being in a not so savory angle with his wife Maria, Mike publicly asked for his release from the company via an Oct. 14 tweet. As we all know by now, that request was denied by WWE.
It is unknown right now if the reason for his hiatus has anything at all to do with his unhappiness with his spot in the company, but it seems worth mentioning as a possibility.
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After four months of in-ring inactivity, Kanellis returned to the ring last night at a house show in Melbourne, FL. Interestingly enough, it was at an NXT house show, where he teamed up with Tony Nese to defeat the team of Mohamed Fahim and Nick Ogarelli.
The appearance seems to suggest that Kanellis is moving from Raw to the NXT brand. Of course, for the time being at least, nothing has been confirmed. Kanellis very well could have just made a trip to NXT to work out the kinks of not working in four months and help him work the rust off before he returns to television.
On the other hand, it also could be testing the waters for a Nese/Kanellis tag team for the brand. Also, by the same sword, it would make an NXT move for Nese official as well, since he’s mostly been hoping back and forth between Raw and 205 Live the past few months.
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We’ll have to wait and see how it turns out, but NXT seems to be a brand where established stars can go for a second chance following either backstage grievances or booking limbo on TV. We’ve seen similar cases recently with Superstars like Lio Rush and Finn Balor. NXT could do wonders for Kanellis if made official.