Welcome to the Grapevine! This section of Smark Henry is where we round up all the important founded and unfounded rumors floating around the pro wrestling scene that you may have missed over the past few days. Remember to take everything with a grain of salt!
Diamond Mine planned for a while
The new Diamond Mine stable on NXT had reportedly been planned for a long time now, even before Roderick Strong quit NXT onscreen following the breakup of the Undisputed Era. There were plans to debut the stable before this week but had been bumped up to make sure it was a central focus of the show. The Diamond Mine stable is part of NXT's plans to make the cruiserweight division a bigger deal on the brand. (Source: Fightful Select)
We say: We're loving all this new stuff on NXT. Keep it coming, and we're excited to see where Diamond Mine goes from here.
Xavier Woods likely written off WWE TV
New Day member Xavier Woods's beatdown at the hands of Bobby Lashley on RAW last Monday may have been a way to write him off TV for the foreseeable future. He has non-WWE projects lined up, such as hosting EA Play live on July 22. (Source: Ringside News)
We say: RAW is already down by a lot, and this adds to the lack of depth. Not that Woods doesn't deserve time off, but wow, what a depleted roster.
Kevin Owens also written off TV
Kevin Owens has also been written off TV to sell the end of the feud between he and Sami Zayn. It seemed like Owens had been injured in their match at Hell in a Cell last Sunday, and he was apparently only working the injury. (Source: Wrestling Observer Radio)
We say: That at least opens up some spots on SmackDown's Intercontinental Championship scene, which had been getting stale over the summer.
Photo from WWE
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