Roode and Young close to joining NXT?, Darren on new partnership, NXT injury, top NXT signing and others confirmed for UK tour, WWE releases, Total divas cast updates, Stephanie on Chyna in the HoF, another TNA name re-signs, and Questions on TNA owing Roode and Young money, ROH departures, a name change for TNA, and Liger continuing to wrestle

Bobby Roode was briefly advertised for NXT's tour of the UK, before the tweet in question was deleted. It's believed he signed a contract at the most recent taping at Full Sail. I'm glad he's finally getting to show what he can do in WWE, even if it's for NXT.

Eric Young discussed his WWE contract status. Hopefully he's able to make that UK tour as well. Roode and Young really raise the bar for NXT. 

Darren Young stated his new on-screen partnership with Bob Backlund is based on a real life friendship. That should be pretty wild. 

NXT's Blake is out with a MCL injury. I'm interested to see what the future is for Alexa, Blake, and Murphy. They've been working separately lately.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.

Manny Andrade, formerly La Sombra, has been confirmed for NXT's tour in the UK next month. I hope we see him on TV soon. He's been highly touted for some time now.

- Tino Sabbatelli, Hugo Knox, and the former Nikki Storm are also set for NXT in the UK. Knox and Storm are from the UK. All these names could be part of the next "crop" of NXT TV regulars.

WWE announced the following releases during the course of the day Friday:

- Hornswoggle. Horny hadn't been in a match on WWE TV since October 2014. He had worked live events after that, but only had one match at a WWE show period since February 2015. This release was really overdue, since they weren't using him and presumably didn't have any plans to use him as a wrestler/character in the near future. I suspect he'll work the indie circuit from here. I don't see TNA or ROH picking him up.

-- Hornswoggle tweeted about living his dream working for WWE. That's pretty touching.

- Alex Riley. This was disappointing. Riley had a real passion for wrestling, and made the most of the roles he was given. I thought he'd really reinvented himself in his work in NXT, and was a valuable presence there for working with those who were still new to the WWE system. I wish he would have gone further in the company, and I hope he has a good future ahead of him in whatever he does now. I'd definitely give him a shot in TNA.

- Zeb Colter. Colter was one of my favorite characters ever, and I routinely cracked up at his promos. He would have been a stellar addition in a more important backstage role, particularly at the Performance Center. He has decades of experience, and should be a sure-fire Hall of Famer. I'd love to see him take his knowledge back to TNA, or get another important role to help shape the future of wrestling.

- El Torito. Another guy they weren't really doing anything with in 2016. He had been appearing on live events semi-regularly, often working against Los Matadores. Now that that team's being rebooted with no Torito in sight, he was kind of an an island. I'm sure he'll continue to get work; he was considered incredibly talented for his pre-WWE work.

-- Torito reacted on Twitter. He'll be fine going forward.

- Cameron. While she had more or less disappeared from WWE TV, she still worked live events every so often and worked as part of NXT for a number of occasions. I can see why WWE wouldn't feel like she was worth investing in going forward given how many women they already have vying for spots on the main roster. Her image would need some rehabilitating as a main roster talent in order to get a push at this point. As much as I wish she could have continued working in NXT and had a chance to improve, I don't think they really missed the boat on her as a talent. Hopefully some other hungry potential superstars get chances with her gone.

-- Cameron commented on the end of her time in WWE. I imagine she'll try to go back to her pre-WWE endeavors.

- Santino Marella. I'm surprised he was still under contract after retiring some time ago. As much as I generally loved his antics, he wasn't in a position to really do anything for them going forward. I don't think he would have been in any position to travel full-time after his neck injury. He's already moved to the next stage in his life, running a training academy for wrestling and MMA.

-- Santino addressed his release. Classy guy. 

- King Barrett, who requested the company let him out of his contract a few weeks early. This wasn't a surprise at all. This probably works out best for him. Hopefully he comes back refreshed in a few years and finally gets that WWE Championship run he should have gotten as the leader of the Nexus. Barrett was always a talented guy, and a solid hand in the ring. It's a shame things never came together for him to reach the level of a Sheamus or Del Rio, if not beyond.

- Damien Sandow. This is unbelievably disappointing. Sandow did everything they asked of him. Every ridiculous role they cast for him; every job they made him do, he did it. I understand this was second stint in WWE, and they didn't really have any plans for him going forward, but he was a really solid wrestler to have around and the crowd always loved him because he always gave 100%.  I found him incredibly entertaining in most of his roles; the Intellectual Savior was one of my favorite gimmicks in quite some time.This was a big missed opportunity, and a blow to the philosophy that hard work and staying clean will get you far in WWE.  I hope he has a renaissance in his career wherever he goes after this.

WWE interviewed Renee Young and Maryse on joining the cast of Total Divas. Of course, Dean Ambrose and The Miz will appear on the show as well. I expect Maryse is back for a pretty regular role if they're using her for that project. No word on whether she'll get back in the ring at any point.

Stephanie McMahon told TMZ Chyna would eventually go into the Hall of Fame. I wouldn't be shocked to see that in 2017 so they can do the big honor for her and finish that chapter of everyone's life (until the DX group induction).

Eli Drake has signed a new exclusive deal with TNA. The company is in the process of getting talents to sign deals that will put TNA in charge of their bookings in the event of a change in ownership and the potential restarting of live event tours. Drake's a good fit for TNA since things didn't work out for him in NXT.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It sounds like this story went through a game of Telephone. The report was that between the two of them, a significant sum was owed. But it wasn't "six figures" for each talent individually, and TNA caught them up before they left. I'm sure they had two of the top contracts in the company given their tenure and place on the card. For better or worse, them leaving frees up funds for people like Sienna and Caleb Konley to work there.

2. This one needs to be addressed in parts:
a. Cedric Alexander has been working without a contract for some time, and tried out for WWE not long ago. There's potential for him to work The Cruiserweight Classic and end up signed to NXT.

b. Veda Scott is also contractually free, as she worked a TNA PPV not too long ago. They haven't signed her, but she also hasn't signed an exclusive ROH deal.

c. Stokely Hathaway isn't under an exclusive deal, so he could end up signed to WWN.

d. Matt Sydal is expected to be NJPW-bound, but will likely continue taking ROH bookings.

e. Moose's contract is up soon, and there's interest from WWE, TNA, and ROH/NJPW. He's likely weighing his next move.

f. Roderick Strong still has a few months left in his deal. I'm under the impression there's outside interest, but that was the case last time as well. The ball's currently in ROH/NJPW's court.

3. He's reportedly been on WWE's radar for years, but ROH has him under a multi-year deal. He's not going anywhere for the time being.

4. I wouldn't be against a name change IF it's part of a greater reorganization. TNA doesn't just need a fresh coat of paint; they need a company-wide restructuring. If they have a new name, but the same people making decisions, I don't see it doing much good. They push the Impact Wrestling name now, and the look and feel of the show is different from their Spike heyday, but that only means so much after so many fans have split.

5. He's still going! Luckily he's over enough as a legend to be able to work a less strenuous style in 2016.

More wrestling tomorrow.