WWE officials are still deciding what to do with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion with Daniel Bryan currently out of action and unable to defend the title in the near-future after undergoing neck surgery.

The time-table for his return remains murky, with hopes that Bryan would return in time for the Money In The Bank pay-per-view (PPV) for a Buried Alive match against Kane, but that now seems unlikely. Bryan will appear in Sunday's Payback event as he is set to make a decision whether to relinquish the title or his wife Brie Bella will get fired by Stephanie McMahon. Bella has discussed, in recent interviews, taking time off to start a family, which could mean that Bryan decides to keep the title during his rehabilitation. There may be contingency plans for the title to be declared vacant should Bryan need longer recuperation time and putting up the championship as the prize at Money In The Bank instead of an opportunity at the title.

While the WWE Universe would love for the "Best in the World" to make a surprise return at Payback, it is looking less and less likely CM Punk is returning to the WWE. When asked by RedEyeChicago.com what it was like to be retired at the age of 35, without skipping a beat, Punk talked about how much fun he was having playing Wiffle ball with Bill Murray and doing charity events for the Chicago Cubs. Punk left the WWE shortly after last year's Royal Rumble despite months left on his contract and does not seem to be in a hurry to come back, with pending nuptials with AJ Lee on the horizon and catching live playoff games of the Chicago Blackhawks as they make a run at the National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup.

WWE officials are extremely happy with Thurday's NXT Takeover live event that aired on the WWE Network, with Triple H revealing in the "NXT Post-Show" that live NXT events will be held on a quarterly basis, as the young guns on the roster showed a glimpses into the company's future. The matches included Adam Rose defeating Camacho, the Ascension successfully defending their NXT Tag Team titles against Kalisto and El Local, Sami Zayn losing to Tyler Breeze in a #1 Contender's match, Charlotte (with her father Ric Flair at ringside) -- beating Natalya (with Bret "The Hitman" Hart by her side) -- winning the NXT Divas title tournament finals, and NXT Champion Adrian Neville retaining his title against Tyson Kidd. Kidd, who has been featured on E! Total Divas along with his wife Natalya and has worked well with the talent at NXT, may soon return to the main roster, repackaged as a masked wrestler, according to Wrestling Observer Newsletter and WrestleZone.com.

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WWE has fresh new talent headed to NXT with NOAH's KENTA and New Japan Pro Wrestling's (NWJP) Prince Devitt rumored to be signed with the company as well as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's Willie Mack's and Ring of Honor's (ROH) Kevin Steen going through the WWE's background check process. Steen (a former ROH champion), KENTA, and Devitt are expected to report to the WWE Performance Center in August should all the paperwork fall into the place.

Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Ronda Rousey and her "Four Horsewomen" training partners -- Shayna Baszler, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke -- may make an appearance at this year's SummerSlam PPV. Rousey has said in the past that she uses the "Rowdy" nickname in honor of her favorite wrestler, Roddy Piper, and named her MMA all-women stable after Ric Flair's Four Horsemen. The UFC women's bantamweight champion has wanted to make an appearance on WWE programming for quite a while but has been unable due to scheduling conflicts.

In other news, Ross and Marshall Von Erich of the famous wrestling Von Erich family, and who have been competing in Japan's NOAH organization, are set to appear on TNA Wrestling's June 15th TNA Slammiversary PPV, with their father Kevin Von Erich scheduled to be in attendance. Kevin Von Erich will be the focus of an upcoming ESPN "30 For 30" documentary that will air later in June, focusing on the family's numerous successes and tragedies in the wrestling business.