WWE News & Rumor Roundup: Ex-Champion gets called "annoying," Backstage note on the Charlotte Flair situation, Sasha Banks' bold claim (October 25, 2021)

We're back with another exciting edition of WWE News and Rumor Roundup. A SmackDown Superstar got called "annoying" by their recent opponent on Talking Smack.

There have been a couple of reports of backstage heat on Charlotte Flair. What is WWE's general view of this situation at the moment? Meanwhile, Sasha Banks has given her take on the company's current women's division.

Today's roundup also features details on Roman Reigns kicking a superstar out of the locker room in the past, as well as the reason why a new main roster star didn't wrestle on SmackDown last week.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at these recent stories:

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#5 Drew McIntyre highlights how "annoying" Sami Zayn has become in WWE

In his first televised WWE SmackDown match since November 2020, Drew McIntyre emerged victoriously against Sami Zayn. The two-time Intercontinental Champion has earned a reputation for being an annoying presence on television lately, and McIntyre commented on this - in character - during Talking Smack.

He acknowledged that the Canadian superstar used to be a class act before turning into "the most annoying man on planet Earth" in 2021.

"I went out there and issued an open challenge, and Sami Zayn accepted. I mean, Sami is a guy that I remember for a long time thinking, what a great wrestler, and how sympathetic is this guy? He doesn't have a bad bone in his body. Fast forward to 2021, more specifically tonight, where he is the most annoying man on planet Earth. And everybody – me, everyone in the locker room, my dad, my dad's friend, his dog, his dog's sister's cousin's uncle – we all can't stand Sami Zayn, and we're all very happy, I'm sure, that I kicked his head almost off his body," said Drew McIntyre.

Zayn's conspiracy theorist gimmick has made him one of the more interesting WWE Superstars in modern times.

While you won't see him in the top title picture every week, his flair for entertainment makes the mid/low-card scene a lot more intriguing.

#4 Charlotte Flair's current situation is seen as "tricky" by WWE

Charlotte Flair's allegedly negative backstage reputation and her recent dispute with Becky Lynch over their title swap segment have led to hot debate among WWE fans across social media.

The gist of her argument with Lynch and subsequent backstage heat stems from reports that she went off-script during their SmackDown segment and has become 'increasingly difficult to work with' lately.

Dave Meltzer recently posted a backstage note on why approaching this situation is proving to be quite tricky for WWE. As per the report, higher-ups would also have to discipline other superstars for their backstage behavior if they went that route with Charlotte Flair.

Meltzer stated, "Regarding the Charlotte Flair situation, it was noted to us that "It's a tricky situation, isn't it? Does WWE just hand her over to AEW?" They note if she is disciplined then they would seemingly also have to discipline others over their backstage behavior. "They have their hands full with this situation.""

Mike Johnson of PWInsider previously mentioned that The Queen has years left on her current WWE deal. So the possibility of her jumping ship to AEW right now doesn't seem plausible.

#3 Sasha Banks comments on WWE's current women's division

Sasha Banks believes that "the WWE women's division is the best it's ever been" right now.

During an interview with Graham Matthews of Bleacher Report a few days back, she seemed excited for the future for women's wrestling in WWE and spoke about how NXT has grown as a brand over the years.

"I feel like we’ve been knocking down every door that’s been closed in front of us," Sasha Banks said. "If they keep making more doors, we’re going to keep knocking them down. The WWE women’s division is the best it’s ever been. I think it’s the greatest of any era from top to bottom, and I can’t wait to see what more the future brings, even from NXT 2.0. To see how many women are down there from when I first started, there was only a group of eight and now there’s maybe a group of 30. Just to see the growth from then to now is so beautiful."

While the WWE roster undoubtedly consists of many top-tier female talents today, the women's division's booking has arguably done a disservice to those performers lately. The Queen's Crown Tournament, although a promising concept, featured very short matches that did not stand out as a result.

There was even a recent backstage report of 'significant frustration' surrounding the booking of the company's women's division. You can read all about it HERE.

#2 Roman Reigns once kicked Enzo Amore out of the WWE locker room

Roman Reigns' status as a WWE locker room leader has only grown over the years. As per veteran referee Mike Chioda, Reigns once kicked Enzo Amore out of the locker room when the latter was being disrespectful to the business.

Back in 2017, a Sports Illustrated report highlighted how Amore's backstage conduct had infuriated his co-workers in WWE. This escalated to a point where he was forced to change outside the locker room, and Chioda mentioned the incident during his recent appearance on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw.

"Roman Reigns is old school, so many generations of wrestling there. He made Enzo dress out in the back because of some of the stupid stuff he was doing. I mean, when you disrespect the business, the boys in the locker room or anything else, you’re gonna get heat, that’s for sure,” said Chioda.

In 2018, the former WWE Superstar even said he got kicked out of the locker room by Roman Reigns for punching a bully.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful confirmed with other wrestlers that the said incident involving Amore indeed happened. However, they did not want to reveal who he had punched.

#1 Reason why Ashante 'Thee' Adonis didn't wrestle on WWE SmackDown

Members of Hit Row - Top Dolla, Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott, Ashante 'Thee' Adonis, and B-Fab - debuted on WWE SmackDown last week. Scott and Top Dolla wrestled in a tag team match against local competitors while Adonis and B-Fab watched from ringside.

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that Ashante is not medically cleared to wrestle at the moment. He doesn't know for how long the superstar will remain out of in-ring action.

"Ashante has a medical condition. I don’t know how much longer until he’s going to be able to wrestle, but he was there," Meltzer said.

A previous report by PWInsider highlighted that WWE wanted to showcase Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott and Ashante 'Thee' Adonis as a duo while pushing Top Dolla as a solo superstar. It will be interesting to see if that turns out to be the on-screen direction for Hit Row once Adonis returns to action.

What are your thoughts on any of the news and rumors covered in today's roundup? Be sure to sound off in the comments section below.