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Kane WWE Return, SmackDown Touring Schedule, Rey Mysterio in Aug. 6 Roundup

Mike Chiari

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

     

Kane Advertised for WWE Live Events

WWE veteran Kane is being advertised for a pair of live events in Louisiana this month.

According to PWInsider's Steven Fernandes, WWE is advertising Kane for the Aug. 23 live event in Bossier City, Louisiana, and the Aug. 24 house show in Lafayette, Louisiana. Kane is scheduled to face Braun Strowman at the Aug. 24 event. 

The 52-year-old Kane (real name Glen Jacobs) is currently serving as the mayor of Knox County in Tennessee. That has effectively aided in the ending of his full-time in-ring career, but WWE still uses him on occasion.

He last competed at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia in November. At that show, Kane teamed with The Undertaker against Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a losing effort.

Kane is one of the longest-tenured and most-accomplished Superstars in WWE history, and there is no question that a WWE Hall of Fame induction is in his future.

While he may not be the same performer he once was from an in-ring perspective, his star power is still significant, and his return could help drum up some interest in those live events.

   

SmackDown Maintaining Four-Day Touring Schedule After Fox Move

Despite the fact that it is moving from Tuesday to Friday when it debuts on Fox in October, SmackDown Live will reportedly still have a four-day touring schedule.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), the weekly SmackDown loop will include a Thursday live event, SmackDown airing live on Fox on Fridays and then more live events on Saturdays and Sundays.

The only alterations will come on pay-per-view Sundays, as there will be no SmackDown house shows on those nights.

Additionally, the Raw touring schedule will reportedly remain unchanged with house shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday (except pay-per-view days) and the Raw television taping on Mondays.

What remains unclear is how the SmackDown move will impact the brand split. While the end of the brand split has not been announced, Raw Superstars routinely appear on SmackDown and vice versa. There doesn't appear to be any regard for the Wild Card Rule either.

Maintaining the status quo would allow WWE's top stars to appear on both Fox and USA Network to appease executives, but it could also make it difficult to adequately advertise who is scheduled to appear ahead of time.

No matter how WWE decides to sort that out, fans can look forward to WWE main roster action in some capacity five days per week.

   

Mysterio vs. Andrade WM 35 Match Reportedly Nixed

Rey Mysterio and Andrade were reportedly tentatively scheduled for a big match at WrestleMania 35 that was ultimately nixed.

According to Meltzer (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), there was once a plan for Mysterio and Andrade to face each other in a hair vs. mask Luchas de Apuestas match.

Since it is unlikely that Mysterio would lose his mask at this point in his career, the bout likely would have resulted in Andrade getting his head shaved. Per Meltzer, WWE's powers that be decided they didn't want Andrade to lose his locks.

The Mysterio vs. Andrade rivalry became a topic of discussion again last week when they faced each other on Raw as part of a gauntlet match to determine the No. 1 contender for the United States Championship. During the match, Andrade ripped a large hole in Mysterio's mask, which nearly left Mysterio's face exposed.

At WrestleMania, Mysterio lost to Samoa Joe in just one minute, while Andrade was part of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Had they faced each other instead, it undoubtedly would have given both of them a much greater spotlight.

Andrade is still looking for his true breakout moment on the main roster, and if WWE goes back to the mask vs. hair idea at some point, that could be precisely what he needs to reach the next level.

   

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

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