WWE: Nick Khan Reveals WWE Will Hold PLEs in Germany & France in 2025, Malakai Black’s Expected AEW Departure & Potential WWE Return Update, More News

Jan 17, 2025

Nick Khan Reveals WWE Will Be Holding PLEs in Germany & France in 2025

Vegas Chamber held a Preview Las Vegas 2025 media event on Thursday in Las Vegas, Nevada featuring WWE President Nick Khan as one of the guests.

During his “fireside chat” session, Khan stated that WWE will be returning to France for a PLE event in Paris at some point this year.

Khan also stated that WWE will also be returning to Germany for a PLE event as well at some point this year.

Khan did not provide any other details regarding these upcoming events in France and Germany.

Source: WrestleZone, F4WOnline.com

Malakai Black’s Expected AEW Departure & Potential WWE Return Update

As noted before, Malakai Black is currently believed to be finishing up with AEW and he is expected to leave the company.

PWTorch’s Wade Keller reported that his sources stated that a deal between Black and AEW officials to end his contract with the company has already been reached or is in the works for him to be a free agent soon. Keller reported that while it is currently not known how soon Black will be a free agent, those within AEW have been told that Black will not return and some AEW-related side projects with him have been halted.

In regards to AEW, Black reportedly had told some people in AEW in the past year or two that he was burned out and just wanted time away and perhaps potentially retire. Keller reported that is possible that Black might have been telling that to people in AEW so that he could more easily talk them into a release for him. Black reportedly had been criticized by colleagues in AEW who were frustrated by the perception that he was resistant to “doing business” in regards to doing jobs and his frequent claims of injury issues. Black reportedly also had never developed a strong working relationship with AEW CEO Tony Khan.

In regards to WWE, Keller reported that those spoken stated that there are influential people within WWE who are big fans of Black and see him as a potential top singles star in the company if he were to return.

WWE News & Notes

Baseball announcer legend and WWE Hall of Famer Bob Uecker passed away on Thursday at the age of 90. In an official statement, Uecker’s family stated that he had been battling lung cancer since early 2023. In regards to wrestling history, Uecker was most known for being the guest ring announcer for the iconic Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant match at WrestleMania III in 1987 and his famous backstage interview segment with Andre the Giant at WrestleMania IV in 1988.

WWE paid tribute to the life and legacy of Bob Uecker following his passing stating “WWE is saddened to learn that legendary baseball play-by-play announcer and WWE Hall of Famer Robert George ‘Bob’ Uecker has passed away. WWE extends its condolences to Uecker’s family, friends and fans.“

As noted before, Charlotte Flair has been out of action for WWE since December of 2023 due to a torn ACL, torn meniscus, and torn MCL injuries and underwent surgery in January of 2024. Flair’s return from injury is currently expected to be “imminent.” Flair recently provided an update on Instagram posting a video of her training and addressing her current status for her in-ring return in the future.

The Roku Channel recently released a trailer for their upcoming new television series What Drives You featuring John Cena. Official synopsis: “John Cena fuels his two biggest passions, cars and connecting with people, by spending time with today’s most successful celebrities and talking about what drives them—on the road and in their hearts.”

In a recent Q&A article, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that WWE officials currently have plans for this year’s WWE Draft to take place after this April’s WrestleMania 41 event.

WWE filed new trademarks for “The Game,” “Sam Stoker,” “Lashing Out w/ Lash Legend,” “Malik Blade,” and “Brooks Jensen” on January 14th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

WWE recently released one new video to their WWE Vault channel on YouTube. This new video was a Tag Team Tables match of The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff Hardy) vs. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley) from WWE Royal Rumble 2000.

WWE NXT talent Jaida Parker recently faced online backlash following her being involved in a recent online controversy over her liking a post on Instagram that promoted transphobia and supported more bans on transgender athletes ban in regards to women’s sports. In response to the backlash, Parker issued several responses that ranged from her mocking those upset at her, claiming that she was still a supporter of LGBTQ rights , and trying to excuse her stance by claiming it means different due to her background as a collegiate soccer player.

In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, Ethan Page gave his thoughts about his interaction with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on the January 7th NXT New Year’s Evil 2025 show. Page stated “I was trying to get some business handled, which is pretty tough with Ava, not gonna lie. She keeps a handle of her business, I can respect that. No, I did not expect The Rock, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, to interrupt me, but on top of it, if a superstar of that caliber could pick anybody on the NXT roster to brush shoulders with, to get to know, to get to be in the presence of and understand what they bring to the table, if I’m the Final Boss, I’m going to see what’s up with Ethan Page. There was part of me that was shocked. The other part, after the fact, no. He’s a very strategic man, and that was a very good move by the Final Boss.” Page also gave his thoughts about The Rock sporting style smack on his butt to end their segment. Page stated “I’ll tell you exactly how I felt. I literally told him, as well, I started wrestling when I was 16 years old. This is where Ethan Page was conceived. I always envisioned Ethan Page on screen with The Rock. Ultimate goal. Number one. Bucket list, let’s check it off. I just skipped an entire line of goals to my number one goal and checked it off. I got to tell him to his face that I got to achieve that. On top of it, let him know what I brought to the table, got to show him how talented I was, and at the end of the day, that’s the man that’s in charge of the future of my career.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)