More backstage WWE cuts, Punk spotlighted in WWE 2K15, more on Del Rio's release, Interviews with Nash/Heyman/Zayn/Mahal/Y2J/JR, Knockout injured, TNA cancels live events, title for last Spike show, more TNA departures, WWE HoFer hospitalized, WWE name at Teen Choice Awards, WWE ads, Smackdown audience, cameo on Raw, what happened after Raw and Questions on Del Rio, Brock vs. Cena, Brie's stipulations

WWE has released a number of members of the Creative team as part of their office cutbacks, including the Senior Vice President of Creative. Needless to say, WWE is truly cutting in all departments.

WWE 2K15 will feature content on rivalries between HHH and Shawn Michaels, as well as John Cena vs. C.M. Punk. I expect this could be the last WWE game Punk is in and they want to make the most of that. Of course HHH put the focus on his rivalry!

Update: The Punk vs. Cena content has been set for more than a year. Changing it after Punk's retirement would have meant major changes to the story mode, which was already far along. So, enjoy all the Punk/Cena stuff, because it could be the last time Cena vs. Punk is a thing.

Alberto Del Rio was released after a physical confrontation with a WWE.com staffer after what Del Rio believed to be a racist comment was spoken by that staffer. Del Rio had been unhappy in the company for a while, and speculation was that he would retire when his current deal ended. TNA is believed to be interested in bringing him in once his no-compete clause is up. It's a really unfortunate situation for all involved. I hope Del Rio is really successful elsewhere as he's incredibly talented. It's WWE's loss, and things should have never gotten to this point. That said, I can't completely justify Del Rio getting physical in a work environment.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.

Kevin Nash had an appearance recently where he took questions. I still think it's weird Hall went in as Razor Ramon. I think Nash will go in as Nash. He's pretty tight with Vince and HHH.

Paul Heyman talked about his new DVD and more. Very interesting and entertaining at the end. I mostly agree about Brock being a special attraction.

NXT standout Sami Zayn was interviewed in the UAE. Sandow worked in FCW as well. Cesaro would have been a better example. I wonder how many El Generico references he'll be getting in interviews once he makes it to the main roster.

Rebel of The Menagerie fractured her arm in a match taped at the most recent TNA tapings. That was her first TNA match. She hasn't had a lot of training, so an injury isn't too surprising. I wish her a speedy recovery.

Jinder Mahal talked about the genesis of 3MB and more. Mahal joining definitely felt like a rib. Hawkins would have made more sense. I'm glad they saved Ambrose for The Shield. He's bigger than that group.

TNA has canceled live events for September 26 and 27 due to potential scheduling conflicts. Those were the latest-advertised domestic live events TNA had on their website. TNA hardly has any live events scheduled other than the UK tour in January.

Update: Those dates could be when TNA tapes their next shows in NYC. They have a hold on those dates, at least. Also, TNA is working with UTA to make the most of their live event business. It could definitely use an overhaul. Attendance has been quite terrible at some shows.

Chris Jericho talked about Bray Wyatt, the art of wrestling and more. He's totally right about having critics no matter what his character's direction is, how often he wrestles, etc. He's also right about it not just being about moves. While I like seeing innovate maneuvers and all that, moves are just the paints the artists use.

Jim Ross talked about the fan backlash to John Cena. I think he's mostly on the money. I do think improving his promos would lessen some of his detractors, but there's definitely a contingent of fans who are going to be upset about him no matter what. His matches are almost always good from a technical standpoint, so that's not it.

The Texas Longhorns now have their own WWE-style championship belt. The IWC needs its own title belt...

The September 25 episode of Impact Wrestling is being branded No Surrender. It's currently the last episode set for Spike. That's 18 days before Bound For Glory, a quick turnaround between big shows. TNA definitely wants the show to be a hit.

Rafael Morfi, TNA's senior director of live events, has given notice as he'll start working with the New York Cosmos soccer team. The split was amicable and he's open to working with TNA more.

TNA's production chief engineer Jaymee Sharp has also given notice. She had worked there since 2008 and will be working for another Nashville-based company soon. It definitely looks like the end of days for TNA, but it's not over yet.

Sgt. Slaughter has been hospitalized after falling ill recently. I wish him a speedy recovery. He actually lives fairly nearby.

Big Show was at the Teen Choice Awards, which is appropriate since he's been in WWE 15 years.

WWE has taken out a lot of advertising recently for Summerslam and the WWE Network. As you know, the latter is available for $9.99 a month.

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins is being advertised as the WWE Title match on post-Summerslam live events. My guess is that will be a non-title match. I'd be surprised to see Cena or Rollins leave Summerslam as champion after Lesnar broke the Streak.

Alberto Del Rio is advertised for AAA Triplemania, which will be on iPPV opposite Summerslam. I wonder how he's able to appear on that with the whole no-compete clause business...

2.64 million people watched Smackdown Friday night. That's mostly in range with what they usually do.

Canadian/Pacific Northwestern independent wrestler Chelsea Green played the physical therapist during the Raw angle. Hey, Alicia Fox started on WWE TV as a wedding planner...

The WWE Network had the continuation of Hogan's birthday celebration. Slater Gator brought a cake to the ring, but Slater tripped and it ended up in Titus' face. A second cake is brought with "9.99" in candles. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and Hogan blew out the candles. Everyone then gave Hogan the ring as confetti and balloons fell from the rafters. That's pretty cool.

Update: After all this, Vince McMahon also came out and posed with Hogan. Obviously there's a big history there. No Sting, somewhat surprisingly.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think both sides take blame here. Del Rio attacking a non-wrestler is obviously bad, but the fact that the environment existed where Del Rio felt like he needed to go that route is pretty telling. He'll really be missed.

2. Ahh, Memphis. Good times...

3. He's the Doomsday to Cena's Superman, clearly. It's refreshing to have Cena face an opponent he sees as a major threat and it's not considered a given Cena will win at Summerslam.

4. Because Bryan could be out a long time! That would make sense, though.

5. I'd probably just have him beat "Damien Piper" or something in what's more or less a squash. Physically, that's about all he'll be able to do. They could set up a match where he's set to do battle with someone, finds out he's out of his league, then gets saved by Cena or Swagger or whomever, but for an actual "match", I'd go the squash route on someone who's not going to really be affected by it.

More wrestling tomorrow.