The Grapevine (9/7/16): We're Afraid We've Got Some Honourable News

Good morning, and this is your daily Grapevine! This section of Smark Henry is where we round up all the founded and unfounded rumors abound the pro wrestling scene that you may have missed over the evening.

Interesting slate of hump-day news, beginning with a potentially huge ROH signing:

• Is Wade Barrett Stu Bennett headed to Ring of Honor? This confirms nothing, but here's an intriguing photo he took with ROH "talent scout," former Embassy manager Prince Nana:

  Business might just pick up even more in @ringofhonor...nice talk @StuBennett. pic.twitter.com/9ZScdwcdrx

  — Prince Nana (@PrinceKingNana) September 6, 2016

We say: Ring of Honor needs a shot in the booking arm to become compelling again, and this could be a step in the right direction. They're not terrible, but they've certainly become boring without the involvement of New Japan talents. Should Bennett sign, this could be his foot in the NJPW door as well, and a step closer to fulfilling all our NEVER Openweight fantasies.

• On a related note, Cody Rhodes seems to be working for TNA and ROH soon. He won't be under contract to either company, however, as he plans to feud with Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis (for Brandi Rhodes), but there's no word on what he plans to do in ROH. Dalton Castle was on the list of wrestlers he planned to face that he posted on Twitter. (Source: F4WOnline)

We say: That's good. Don't sign a contract with TNA.

• The WWE Women and Tag Team Championships are getting a small rebrand to be in line with their SmackDown counterparts. They're just going to be called the RAW Women and Tag Team Championships. (Source: WrestlingInc)

We say: It's uninspired, but makes sense. When you really think about it, the WWE and World naming convention back in the day, although more prestigious, kind of didn't make sense, so we guess this is okay.

• The RAW cruiserweight division will initially only feature talents from the Cruiserweight Classic. Gran Metalik, Akira Tozawa, Jack Gallagher, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, TJ Perkins, Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann, Noam Dar, and Brian Kendrick will headline the division, and they'll be featured on both RAW and NXT. (Source: PWInsider)

We say: This seems a little sketchy and haphazardly put-together. Will there be a championship? Will angles on RAW carry into NXT, and vice versa? Are they just sideshows to all the other flat angles on RAW? Will they all be on both shows, or are some going to spend more time down at Full Sail? We need more details here.

Let us know what you think of today's news in the comments!

September 07, 2016