After months of recovery from a torn pectoral muscle and tendon injury, Tyler Bate is set to make his return to WWE. Bate has been sidelined since last summer, following a match with Pete Dunne. After undergoing surgery, he has been rehabilitating and was medically cleared to return in February.
Pwinsider recently confirmed that Bate will rejoin the RAW brand, though WWE’s plans for him remain unclear.
Fightful Select is reporting that talents from TNA Wrestling and WWE NXT receive extra pay for appearances on the other company’s shows, though the exact amount is undisclosed.
Counting these crossover appearances toward contracted dates might challenge the idea of wrestlers being independent contractors. Several NXT stars, like Oba Femi, Cora Jade, and Wes Lee, have appeared on TNA shows, while notable TNA wrestlers such as Moose, The Hardys, and Masha Slamovich have appeared on NXT TV, with more crossovers expected in the future.
Booker T was recently named the “Greatest Black Wrestler of All-Time” by BET.com.
During a recent edition of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer reacted to the honor. He said,
“I really appreciate that. I really do. My body of work has been vast. I’m still working my butt off to make sure this next generation finds their way through this journey as well. It’s not easy. There are so many pitfalls and so many holes and bumps in the road. There are land mines you can fall on. So I’m trying to let these young guys see how you could be really, really successful in this business, but think about parlaying that success into whatever you’re going to do next. I think that’s what’s really, really important. For me, the journey was always going to work, putting my boots and my hard hat on. A lot of times I felt like I had my stethoscope on and around my neck because I felt like it was 24/7. I was on call 24/7.”
He added, “I never thought I was the best wrestler in the world, but I always thought I was a really, really good performer, and that’s what the difference was. I always said, top five performers. I never said top five wrestlers,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a beautiful thing that my people know how hard I’ve worked and what I’ve brought to this game, and what I left as well.
“I was always thinking about what was next. I was always thinking about the next act. I was always thinking about the next show, the next opponent, the next town, you know, the fans who I was going to have to perform in front of next. So for me, there again, it’s just all been work, but the work paid off at the end of the day, because when I got in this business more than 30 years ago, I said when it was over with, I just want my name to ring with the best wrestlers that have ever did it, and I feel like I’ve achieved that. I feel like my name rings right there with all of the greats that have ever done this, so I appreciate BET for honoring me and giving me that honor and putting praise on me like that.”
