Roman Reigns missing after WWE announcement

Inside: WWE talent released and more

February 08, 2025

SMACKDOWN SYNOPSIS

Roman Reigns was looking good in the Royal Rumble and even made it to the last six stars in the event, along with Seth Rollins and CM Punk. He was brawling with Rollins along the ropes when Punk decided to take advantage and threw both stars out of the Rumble in one swift move. The star was left hurt, not by being thrown out, but by what followed immediately. Rollins hit him with two Stomps on the back of his head on the outside, including one on the steel steps. This led to him leaving the arena while suffering and confused soon after.

Since then, there has been no communication about him other than WWE announcing that he will be missing for the foreseeable future. Since the injury, the star has not been seen, and WWE revealed that was the case as well. Joe Tessitore announced that despite the best attempts of everyone to get in touch with Roman Reigns, they had not been successful and he was missing.

WHAT YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON!

  • WWE's big future plans for The Rock's daughter Ava revealed

  • Huge news on WWE's plans for Money in the Bank 2025

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Carmelo Hayes is one of the rising stars on the SmackDown roster. However, his mouth has always gotten him into trouble and has resulted in him having to face much bigger stars like Braun Strowman, Damian Priest, and even Cody Rhodes. However, at the Royal Rumble, it was his actions that got him into trouble. After being eliminated from the Royal Rumble Match, a frustrated Carmelo Hayes attacked Akira Tozawa when he was making his entrance. As a result, IShowSpeed took his spot in the Rumble.

On WWE SmackDown, the former NXT Champion was backstage in Nick Aldis' office. Aldis told him that Adam Pearce had sent someone from the RAW brand to face him. Hayes wasn't feeling it at first but when he found out that he would be facing Tozawa, he agreed to the match. Akira Tozawa kicked off the match in top gear. However, it was Hayes who was still able to beat the Alpha Academy member. This marks Hayes' first singles win since he beat Braun Strowman by count-out on the December 13, 2024, episode of WWE SmackDown.

Cedric Alexander took to social media to share the news right before WWE SmackDown started. He thanked fans for the last eight and a half years he had spent in the company. He won multiple 24/7 Titles, a tag team title, as well as the Cruiserweight Championship. He said that he'd been dreaming of being a wrestler for a long time and would continue in that role even after this. He said he'd see everyone 90 days after the non-compete clause expires. Triple H is said to be the one who releases stars, so it's expected that he also had a say in this.

The fact that he was released was confirmed minutes later by Dave Meltzer. The breaking news followed soon after Alexander had announced that he was done with the company and that they were parting ways.

FROM THE RUMOR MIL

Dark clouds have hovered over Paul Ellering's future since Uncle Howdy took him out with a Mandible Claw on the October 21 edition of RAW and wrote him off the television. Shortly after, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported that the 71-year-old WWE Hall of Famer was done with the sports entertainment juggernaut.

However, Ellering returned a few months later during the December 9 edition of RAW, helping Final Testament beat The Wyatt Sicks in an eight-man tag team match. Since then, he hasn't been used much on television, and now we know why. PWInsider has learned that WWE has released Paul Ellering today. This ends his nearly nine-year stint with the Stamford-based promotion.

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