The Revival-Vince McMahon, Maria, Mike Kanellis Announcement; Taz on AEW-ECW

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Cash Wheeler Declines Comment on The Revival Rebrand Rumors

The Revival were among the numerous wrestlers released by WWE last week as the company cut costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

For years, many fans argued the former tag team champions were being woefully used by the promotion given the great matches they delivered in NXT.

That's why some didn't immediately dismiss what were reportedly costume designs to repackage The Revival, per BodySlam.net's Cassidy Haynes:

Cash Wheeler, who wrestled as Dash Wilder in WWE, unfortunately failed to provide any confirmation:

Considering Chad Gable went from being one half of American Alpha to working as Shorty G—complete with a suitably outlandish outfit—nobody should be surprised if that's what Vince McMahon had in store prior to The Revival's departure.

Mike, Maria Kanellis Planning Announcement During Raw

Mike and Maria Kanellis followed The Revival out the door last week.

Mike Kanellis had asked to be released from his contract last October but effectively told WrestleTalk's Louis Dangoor he would've rather remained employed with WWE right now given the present circumstances. He had wanted out of WWE in order to work more elsewhere, but the pandemic makes that impossible.

Fans apparently haven't heard the last of the Kanellises. Maria tweeted Monday the couple will have something to say during Monday's edition of Raw:

The inclusion of "#NonEssentialWrestlers" and "#NonEssentialFamily" is a reference to WWE being ruled an essential business by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. That allowed the promotion to continue staging shows at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

Taz Compares AEW to ECW

All Elite Wrestling commentator Taz first rose to prominence as a member of ECW, becoming one of the company's biggest stars before his move to WWE.

Taz believes AEW and ECW share some overlap in terms of how they're viewed by some outsiders, per Wrestling Inc's Jason Ounpraseuth:

"We were told, just like AEW, 'Oh, you guys are doing too many spot. You guys don't sell. Oh, that guy, he's going through tables. There's too much blood. You guys are juicing.' F--k you. That's how we were towards those old-timers, and I feel the same thing you get with a lot of the AEW talent. 'These guys aren't big enough.' I was told my whole life I wasn't big enough. My whole career, so that to me just drives this locker room. All the guys and girls. That same synergy from ECW and what we were told back then to fast forward to now."

All Elite Wrestling has hit the ground running since formally launching Dynamite in October. The weekly show has done well enough against WWE NXT that the cable partner signed an extension through 2023.

That financial stability will help AEW continue building an alternative for fans who have grown disaffected with the WWE product.