WWE Rumors on Goldberg's Return, Logan Paul vs. Jey Uso and Backstage Buzz on Releases

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Goldberg Reportedly Nearing Return

There has been very little news on Goldberg's return to WWE since the November announcement that he would have a retirement match at some point in 2025.

That could change soon after WrestleVotes reported Goldberg's name has "has been floated" recently within WWE, indicating his next appearance could be imminent.

Goldberg most recently appeared on WWE television at Bad Blood last October in an angle with Gunther. It has been assumed that it was being used to set up a bout between the two.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported in March that WWE was holding off the match until after Gunther dropped the world heavyweight title.

The Ring General has since lost the championship to Jey Uso at WrestleMania 41. He is set to square off with Pat McAfee at Backlash on Saturday. It wouldn't be a surprise if Goldberg gets involved to cost Gunther the match, setting up their one-on-one bout.

If WWE wants to save Goldberg's last match for SummerSlam, doing an angle this weekend would seem early since that show isn't until Aug. 2-3.

Another option is that the bout could be added to the Saturday Night's Main Event show on May 24 to raise the profile. Since no matches have been announced, the only thing that's been confirmed is John Cena appearing on the show.

Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul Targeted for SNME

Speaking of Saturday Night's Main Event, one match that seems almost certain to be on the card will see Uso defending his newly won world heavyweight title against Logan Paul.

Per Meltzer (h/t WrestleTalk TV), WWE currently has the Uso-Paul match scheduled for the May 24 show on NBC and Peacock.

It was assumed when Paul first confronted Uso on the April 28 episode of Raw that the match would be on the card for Backlash.

However, since WWE has largely limited the non-major premium live events to five matches and just one of the two men's world titles being defended, it makes sense to hold this one since Backlash is being sold entirely around presumably the last-ever John Cena-Randy Orton match for the undisputed WWE title.

Uso made his first defense since winning the world heavyweight championship on Monday's episode of Raw. He lost to Seth Rollins via disqualification when CM Punk attacked The Architect.

After Raw went off the air, Paul attacked Uso at ringside to further their storyline.

More Details on Recent WWE Releases

Last week saw WWE go through another round of talent releases, resulting in 13 on-screen performers between the main roster and NXT being let go.

Per Meltzer (h/t Wrestle Talk TV), the rationale for the releases was described as "wanting to bring new people to television" and feeling the people who were let go "reached their peak of usage and of how far the company would go with them."

Meltzer also cited people saying the released talent was more "dead weight" on the main roster.

One of the most notable talents released was Dakota Kai, who has been a member of Damage CTRL since returning to the company in 2022.

Writing about Kai's release specifically, Meltzer noted one person in WWE described her as having use on a "micro-level" to put over ascending talent and work in short-term programs with top stars but that wasn't worth it to the company.

Kai and Braun Strowman were the two highest-profile names released in this wave of cuts. It's also the second round of releases for WWE so far this year, with the first one in February when 11 people were either let go or didn't have their contracts renewed.

Per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, Kai has received interest from top agents within pro wrestling. She wrote in a post on X that she's "far from done."

There is some expectation that Kai could end up signing with AEW after previously negotiating with them in 2022 before deciding to go back to WWE.

Given how crowded things are with the WWE roster right now, both the main roster and at NXT, and the fact that house shows have been largely cut from the schedule, there could actually end up being fewer spots for performers in the company despite having three weekly television shows plus premium live events.

It's rough for the people who lost their jobs, but hopefully they will be able to land on their feet either with another promotion or bouncing around the indies if they want to keep wrestling since there are plenty of options outside WWE right now.

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