WWE: Freedom Ramsey Departs from WWE ID Program, John Cena & Cody Rhodes Appearances Set for 5/30 WWE SmackDown Show, Backstage Update on Asuka Knee Injury & Return Plans Update

Freedom Ramsey Departs from WWE ID Program

WWE ID talent and indie wrestler Freedom Ramsey announced on Monday on Twitter that he is no longer part of WWE’s WWE ID talent developmental program.

“I just wanted to share something: I am no longer with WWE ID,” Ramsey announced. “This did not happen publicly, some things are just meant to be handled behind closed doors. I just wanted to keep it real with the fans who have supported me since day one, whether it was in small gyms or in the bright lights.

WWE has always been a dream of mine. It changed me. Wrestling on WWE Evolve, training at the Performance Center, just meeting everybody I used to see on TV — I learned, I grew, I developed. Now a new chapter begins, and I’m not sure what that looks like yet, but I’m going to come into it with the same hunger that I did when I started professional wrestling. Thank you guys for the support. Thank you for riding with me. This journey is far from over.”

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— Freedom Ramsey (@freedomramsey) May 26, 2025

Prior to his announcement, Ramsey had been signed to the WWE ID program since November of 2024.

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com

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John Cena & Cody Rhodes Appearances Announced for May 30th WWE SmackDown Show

WWE announced one new segment for the card of this week’s WWE SmackDown show on May 30th at the Thompson-Boling Arena At Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

This new segment announced was Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and Cody Rhodes to make an appearance on the show.

Current card for May 30th WWE SmackDown show:

• Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Triple Threat match – Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax vs. Naomi
• Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Triple Threat match – Andrade vs. Jacob Fatu vs. Carmelo Hayes
• Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena to appear
• Cody Rhodes to appear
• Bianca Belair to return

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Backstage Update on Asuka Knee Injury & Return Plans Update

As noted before, Asuka has been out of action for WWE since May of 2024 due to a knee injury.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that despite recent online rumors and speculation, Asuka is not back with WWE and continues to remain out of action for the company.

Those spoken to reportedly stated that Asuka still has yet to be medically cleared for a return. Those spoken to reportedly also stated that at the time of her injury, WWE officials had expected Asuka to be out of action for the rest of 2025 and possibly miss WrestleMania 41 as well.

It was reported that there has not been any actual creative plans within WWE for Asuka during her ongoing recovery period but there had been some creative discussions earlier this year for her eventual return. One source spoken to reportedly stated that WWE creative had talks about a potential surprise return despite knowing there was a small chance she would be back in time for WrestleMania 41.