Dolph Ziggler has not been seen anywhere on WWE programming for several weeks now. Fans have speculated that perhaps WWE is keeping the wrestler inactive due to his brother recently pleading guilty to a shooting incident. Others have thought that perhaps Ziggler is not happy with his current role in WWE and that he may be planning to leave the company soon. However, Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the reason Dolph hasn’t been on TV lately is simply due to the fact that creative doesn’t have any plans for him at the moment. While Ziggler has been off TV for several weeks now, he has still been making appearances at live events for the company.
One of the top independent wrestlers today is currently set to wrestle his final indy date soon. Lio Rush has been previously reported to have signed a deal with WWE, and he is going to begin training very soon. PWInsider says that a deal to join the company has probably already been signed, but Rush wanted to add one more independent date for the wrestling promotion that gave him his start in the business before becoming exclusive to WWE. Rush is now set to wrestle his final independent match at MCW this Saturday night. After this, he is expected to be joining the WWE Performance Center to begin training for NXT.
As noted before, Darren Young is believed to be fully healed from an injury that he sustained earlier this year. He had been awaiting medical clearance to return to the ring over these past few weeks. Pro Wrestling Sheet is now claiming that Young had a medical evaluation earlier this week. Young has been out since February with a shoulder injury, but luckily, he received clearance to make his return to the ring this week. The report mentions that Young is currently set to continue wrestling on the Raw brand, but it is unknown if his previous partnership with Bob Backlund is set to continue. Young could be returning to the ring as early as next week.