Ryback Released, Big Show Retiring and Top WWE News from Week of August 13

With WWE SummerSlam 2016 coming up on Aug. 21, the card is starting to fill out. Every title will be defended, and a few of the matchups between Raw and SmackDown Superstars may be their last encounters for quite some time.

As always, there's a lot of other news happening in the world of WWE. Let's take a look at the biggest stories from the past week.

WWE Releases Ryback

After months of keeping Ryback off television following a contract dispute, WWE.com officially confirmed The Big Guy's departure on Monday.

Ryback has been planning for this for quite some time. He has been building awareness for his own personal brand through his social media accounts for as long as he has been absent from TV.

Despite never winning a WWE world title, Ryback made a good name for himself, so he will be able to command a pretty penny on the indy circuit.

He likely has to wait the same 90 days to appear on a competitor's TV show as everyone else who is released, but when that time is over, it wouldn't be surprising to see The Big Guy end up with TNA.

Damien Sandow Debuts for TNA

Speaking of former WWE stars appearing for TNA, Damien Sandow made his debut for the promotion this past week under his new name, Aron Rex.

Since WWE doesn't own the copyright to the Hallelujah music Sandow used in WWE, he can still use it in TNA and other promotions.

Say what you will about TNA, but this is a good get for the company. Rex is a fantastic wrestler with a loyal following built up during his time in WWE.

He might not cause a huge shift in ratings, but at least his fans can see him featured more prominently in TNA than he was during his last year with WWE.

Big Show Reveals When He Will Retire

Big Show is one of the elder statesmen of WWE, so it was just a matter of time before he started thinking about hanging up his boots for good.

During an interview with SportsTalk 790 in Miami (h/t Wrestling Inc.'s Raj Giri), Big Show said this would be his last year wrestling, making his upcoming bout against Shaquille O'Neal at WrestleMania 33 his last match at the event.

Despite years of being used to get other people over, Show has had an incredible career spanning three decades.

Who else can say they defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Championship in his debut match? He is also one of the few people to hold the WCW, WWE and ECW titles, although his ECW championship run came after the product was brought back under the WWE banner.

He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and it would be a shame if WWE didn't give him one last run with a top title before he calls it a career.

Updated NXT TakeOver: Back to Brooklyn Card

NXT general manager William Regal has made some additions to the card for NXT's upcoming TakeOver special. Here is a look at the lineup, per WWE.com:

Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura	NXT Championship
Asuka vs. Bayley	NXT Women's Championship
The Revival vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa	NXT Tag Team Championships
Andrade Almas vs. Bobby Roode	Singles Match
No Way Jose vs. Austin Aries	Singles Match
Ember Moon Debuts

Updated SummerSlam Card

SummerSlam is one of the two super-sized pay-per-views on the WWE calendar, and this year's event has a lineup capable of putting on the best show of the year. Here's a look at the current card, per WWE.com:

Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins	Universal Championship
Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler	WWE Championship
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte	WWE Women's Championship
The Miz vs. Apollo Crews	Intercontinental Championship
Rusev vs. Roman Reigns	United States Championship
The New Day vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson	Tag Team Championships
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton	Singles Match
John Cena vs. AJ Styles	Singles Match
Enzo and Cass vs. Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens	Tag Team Match

What are your predictions for SummerSlam 2016?

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