Baron Corbin can keep cracking jokes about everyone pretending to know his schedule, but the latest MLW developments are making his WWE comeback look a whole lot more real.
Corbin, who has been working as Bishop Dyer since leaving WWE in November 2024, has now been “locked out” of Major League Wrestling and stripped of his half of the MLW World Tag Team Championship. That is not a small detail. That is the kind of on-screen move wrestling companies make when someone might be on the way out.
For weeks, Corbin’s name has been tied to a possible WWE return after his 12-year run with the company came to an end. Since then, he has stayed active on the independent scene, with his biggest post-WWE run coming in MLW as part of The Skyscrapers alongside Donovan Dijak.
Now MLW has put that run in serious jeopardy. During MLW Fusion, announcer Rich Bocchini, formerly known as Rich Brennan in NXT, said he had just come out of major meetings with people inside MLW and had a big update on the World Tag Team Championship situation.
“I literally just stepped out of a series of high profile meetings with sources inside the MLW office and we have a major development regarding the World Tag Team Championship. Something that could really shift the entire landscape of Major League Wrestling.”
Bocchini then addressed the question surrounding Dyer’s absence and said things between Dyer and MLW have completely fallen apart at the negotiating table.
“For weeks, the question has been, exactly where is Bishop Dyer? I can now confirm this – negotiations between Dyer and Major League Wrestling have officially hit a total standstill.”
That is where things got even more interesting. Bocchini claimed Dyer was trying to use his World Tag Team Title status to get more out of MLW.
“My sources tell me that Dyer has been using – or attempting to use – his status as World Tag Team Champion as the ultimate leverage. We’re talking about a salary bump and perk demands that would make a billionaire blush.”
MLW’s answer was not subtle. The company is now saying Dyer is locked out until he comes back with what they consider a more reasonable approach.
“Now, the League’s response to this – ‘We’ve had enough.’ As of this moment, Bishop Dyer has officially been locked out of Major League Wrestling, until he returns with a reasonable mindset.”
That also means Donovan Dijak is being left to save the tag title reign by himself. MLW is allowing Dijak to remain champion, but only if he can find a new partner.
“But there’s a massive catch for the tag team division, and it’s this. The front office has ruled that Donovan Dijak will be allowed to remain World Tag Team Champion on one condition – a new tag team partner.”
Bocchini then made it clear Dijak is on the clock, and if he fails, the titles are getting vacated.
“The clock is ticking. If Dijak can find a partner by the end of Fusion, his reign will continue. If he can’t, the title will be vacated and put up for grabs when Major League Wrestling heads to Charleston, South Carolina.”
That is a pretty convenient way to move Bishop Dyer out of the picture, especially while WWE return talk around Corbin keeps getting louder.
Ringside News previously reported that people inside WWE still expect Corbin to return soon, even after Corbin pushed back on the talk himself.
That followed Dave Meltzer saying on Wrestling Observer Radio that Corbin’s return had been “heavily talked about” behind the scenes. We also reported a few weeks back that multiple WWE sources called Corbin a “locker room favorite” and indicated there were people in the company who wanted him back.
Corbin has not exactly stayed quiet through all of this. After talk spread that he had quietly wrapped up with multiple promotions, he jumped on social media and mocked the idea that everyone else had his schedule figured out before he did.
“I accepted 8 shows in Europe. My eye is still swollen from Australia. I also didn’t know i was done with some of these companies. Who ever is making my schedule needs to let me know this shit. I thought it was me but apparently it’s not.”
That response got attention because Corbin was clearly pushing back on the way the story was being framed. At the same time, he never fully shut down the idea that WWE was interested or that a return could happen.
Now MLW has him locked out, stripped of his half of the tag titles, and Dijak looking for a replacement partner. That is not exactly going to slow down the WWE comeback talk.
Do you think Baron Corbin is really headed back to WWE, or is MLW just working everyone with the Bishop Dyer lockout angle? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know where you think Corbin fits best.
