WWE: Goldberg’s Contract Expired, Cody Rhodes on Potential WWE Title Reign Plans, More News

Goldberg’s WWE Contract Reportedly Expired

Goldberg’s current contract with WWE reportedly recently expired and he is currently a free agent, according to Fightful Select.

It was reported that their sources stated that Goldberg’s contract had expired at the end of 2022 following him and WWE not being able to come to terms for an extension nor a new deal.

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Cody Rhodes on His Plans for Potential WWE Championship Reign

Stadium Astro held a recent interview with Cody Rhodes. One of the topics discussed included Rhodes’ thoughts on the type of working champion he would want to be for a potential WWE Championship reign.

“It would mean vindication. I’ve made a great career out of proving people wrong, and I’ve taken the attitude as of now about proving people right, especially this new audience with WWE that has really warmly welcomed me back. A whole new audience that kind of pairs well with the independent audience I was able to bring over and hopefully bring as many folks as I could. They pair so well together. It’s vindication for both those who are just in it now; this is their first ride with ‘The American Nightmare.’ They like what they’re seeing. Then, it’s vindication for those who have been there every step of the way.

Like the song Kingdom says, ‘I’ll follow you till the end.’ When is the end? Is the end when I win the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship, or is the end when I win that title and then take it every single place I can possibly take it and excel and deliver on a level that no champion has done in years? I want to cut a schedule like Bret Hart, like Ric Flair. I want to do something very different than modern champions have done, where there’s a bit of a ‘less is more’ schedule. I want a ‘more is more’ schedule. It would mean vindication for me, for sure.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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WWE News & Notes

As noted before, Major League Wrestling’s original antitrust lawsuit against WWE was dismissed this past February and had filed a new amended lawsuit earlier this month. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that the U.S. District Court, California Northern District (San Jose) approved WWE’s motion for an extension of time for their official response to MLW’s amended lawsuit based on recent court documents. WWE reportedly will now have until April 7th to file an official response while MLW would then have until May 8th for an official counter response.

Monday was the ten year anniversary of Bayley making her official WWE debut for their NXT brand.

Monday’s episode of NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS featured a guest appearance by Sheamus.

NXT talent Charlie Dempsey reportedly was in attendance backstage at Monday’s RAW show in St. Louis, Missouri, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that Dempsey worked in a match for this Thursday’s Main Event show that was taped prior to the start of RAW.

Rhea Ripley stated on Twitter that she was recently involved in an incident with unruly fans at an airport. Ripley stated that these fans had hounded her for autographs and did not respect her personal boundary. Ripley also stated that going forward, she will no longer be signing any merchandise except for a personal photo for fans who following her around in public.

Besides Ripley, Liv Morgan and Rey Mysterio were also involved in recent incidents at an airport over fans hounding them to autograph multiple items per person. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that WWE officials have become aware of this becoming a growing issue with their talent since the company resumed touring following the lifting of COVID pandemic travel restrictions.

ESPN reportedly is currently interested in signing Pat McAfee to a potential contract with their company, according to the New York Post. McAfee has been mostly absent from WWE since this past November due to various issues while Wade Barrett recently revealed that he has permanently taken over McAfee’s spot on WWE’s SmackDown commentary team.