Soon-to-be former WWE Superstar Rhyno (now going back to the name Rhino without the “Y”) made his Impact Wrestling return at Slammiversary when he speared Michael Elgin after Elgin lost to World Champion Brian Cage.
It’s no secret that Rhyno was on his way out of WWE after he declined an offer to stay with the company. When he was interview by Chris Van Vliet last May, he noted that he was leaving the company on good terms and he didn’t want to stay with them because he didn’t want to become miserable.
Prior to the Slammiversary pay-per-view, he dropped a hint on Twitter to let fans know that he was in Texas and he was getting back to work.
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that he is under a 90-day non-compete with WWE and that expires in about a week so technically, he is still with the company.
“He wore a mask because his WWE contract actually ends in a week,” Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer later clarified that his 90-day non-compete notice ends in a week.
This also explains why he was dressed in black with a mask and the announcers never said his name. Both Josh Mathews and Don Callis acted as if they did not know who this mystery person was. No word on if Rhyno just decided to appear without asking WWE or if they gave him permission to be there or if he just decided that wearing the mask and not being named by the announcers would allow him to be there.
Impact Wrestling will tape TV next week so they will be free to say his name at that time. There is no word on if he’s signed with them but it looks like he’s set for a feud with Michael Elgin, at least for the short-term.
Here is Rhyno’s tweet that he sent out before Slammiversary:
Nothing better then a 4th of July weekend in Texas. Time to get back to work. pic.twitter.com/0tQLZY45w4
— Rhyno (@Rhyno313) July 7, 2019
