Backstage News On Why Rhyno Appeared Under A Mask At Impact Slammiversary, His WWE Roster Status

By Marc Middleton

As noted, a masked Rhyno made his return to Impact Wrestling in a segment with Michael Elgin at Sunday's Slammiversary 17 pay-per-view in Dallas, TX.

Rhyno appeared under a mask because the non-compete clause attached to his WWE contract expires in one week, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Rhyno is still listed on the active WWE RAW roster as of this writing. He made a few RAW TV appearances back in January, but his last WWE TV appearance came at WrestleMania 35 for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Rhyno spoke with entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet back in May and said his last day with WWE was on Wednesday, July 17.

"July 17th is my last date there," Rhyno told Van Vliet. "They actually offered me more than twice my downside but it wasn't where they would have to use me because the downside is so large and it wasn't about money it was about me wanting to be on the road work and helping the younger guys kind of like a player coach."

He continued, "It was a mutual understanding that we were not going to figure out a number. And they've been great, I can't say anything bad about them. I had a lot of fun. I was afraid that they would say yes to a larger downside than what they offered me because I was afraid that they would still sit me at home. It's not that they don't like me, there is a lot of talent there and they have to cycle the talent which is normal because you want to get men and women out there to work. I was afraid that I would become miserable and that's the last thing that you want to do when you're doing something that you love. I would rather take a step back and work for some of these companies and work the independent scene."

There's no word yet on what Impact has planned for Rhyno, past the feud with Elgin, or how long he's signed for, but we will keep you updated.

Rhyno made a tweet on Sunday that mentioned being in Texas, seen below. He wrote, "Nothing better then a 4th of July weekend in Texas. Time to get back to work."

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