'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
There is a noticeable feeling of a change in the WWE landscape. The company is slowly and steadily moving on from the pandemic era, and several changes have been made in the past few weeks. New angles, fresh concepts and a surprising backstage edict have been talked about in detail by the fans. Today's edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup, thus, has a lot of interesting stories to cover.
The first and most intriguing of the lot is with regards to the identity of the Mystery Woman on SmackDown. There is a lot of speculation doing the rounds, and we've covered the best bits.
The details of the original plans for AJ Styles' AEW debut have also been revealed. We also have more details regarding WWE banning its talents from engaging with third-party platforms. The story, as you may have noticed, has garnered a lot of mainstream attention.
The canceled plans for AOP before the tag team's WWE release have been revealed as well. Finally, a top WWE Superstar has proposed the idea of being Triple H's final opponent.
#5. Speculation on the identity of the Mystery Woman on WWE SmackDown
As noted earlier, WWE has kickstarted a mission to freshen up the product, and that means the introduction of new faces.
WWE aired an intriguing vignette on the most recent episode of SmackDown, teasing the arrival of a new character on WWE TV.
A mysterious woman in high heels and a fur coat was shown during the brief vignette, and the fans have already begun speculating about the Superstar who could portray the new character.
The name that tops the list is Chelsea Green, who has been earmarked for a main roster call-up in recent months. There are also rumors that Green could be a part of RETRIBUTION, but the new gimmick may suit her more than the rebellious faction.
Eva Marie, who left WWE in 2017, commented on the Mystery Woman angle, which could have also been a potential teaser of a comeback.
Marie even recently told The Wrap that she would be all in for a WWE return for the right reasons.
"WWE is my No. 1. My home. My family. They prepared me for all the things I am doing and what I want to do in my career. I am forever grateful to the company, to Vince [McMahon], Hunter [Triple H] and Stephanie [McMahon]. If it made sense, of course I'd come back home."
Other names are also being discussed for the role, and they include Carmella, Peyton Royce, and Tessa Blanchard.
#4. Plans for former WWE Champion AJ Styles' AEW debut revealed
AEW has grown from strength to strength since being founded in January 2019, and while many former WWE Superstars have joined the company ever since, AJ Styles was really close to being All Elite.
During an appearance on the latest Talk N' Shop Patreon podcast, Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks revealed the original plans for the AEW debuts of The Good Brothers and AJ Styles.
The plan was for Styles, Gallows, and Anderson to debut together on the very first episode of AEW Dynamite. While Jackson didn't outrightly mention AJ Styles' name, it was pretty apparent that he was referring to the WWE SmackDown Superstar.
Jackson revealed that WWE was informed about the possible plan and the company offered Styles a massive 5-year deal. WWE's offer was just too good for Styles to turn down. The former WWE IC Champion even thanked The Young Bucks later as he would not have received a big deal from the WWE had it not been for his nixed AEW debut.
Here's what Matt Jackson revealed:
"People don't realize that when we were pitching to have you guys come in, it wasn't just going to be the two of you, it was going to be another person who I won't name, but another Bullet Club person who you may not want to talk about."
When we were originally going to do Dynamite, we were going to debut at Madison Square Garden. After the match, three of you, not just the two of you, the three of you were going to jump the guardrail, and we were going to have like a Bullet Club reunion. We were gonna throw up the too sweet and then the three of you were going to jump us and make us bloody and destroy us and then we were going to be off to the races. And it obviously didn't work out. I remember the first guy in this conversation we're talking about right now, he buzzed us, and he's like 'I just got too good of an offer, and I would have never got the offer without your guys offer, so I just wanted to say thank you."
#3. AJ Styles would love to be Triple H's final opponent in the WWE
AJ Styles will go down in history as one of the greatest in-ring talents of the modern era, and thankfully for the fans, the WWE has already booked quite a few dream matches over the past few years.
However, Triple H vs. AJ Styles in a one-on-one showdown is one of those matches that is yet to take center stage in the WWE.
During his recent Twitch stream, Styles proposed the idea of being the opponent in Triple H's final match. The former WWE Champion said that he would love to give The Game a fitting farewell.
Styles also reminded the fans that he and Triple H have shared the same ring before, but it was at a house show in Japan where they were on the same team.
Here's what AJ Styles had to say during his Twitch stream:
"Should I throw it out there and send it out there that I'd be his last match. I would love to do that. I'll let him know I'd do that with him. Him and I have been in the same ring together, but we were on the same team. It was when we were in Japan. It was basically The O.C. and Triple H; that was fun." (h/t Wrestling Inc.)
#2. WWE's nixed plans for AOP before the release
Akam and Rezar of AOP became the latest WWE Superstars to have been released from the company. The WWE release was least expected to happen as the tag team was previously rumored to return to TV.
Rezar was out of action due to a bicep injury, and it has now been revealed by Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE was set to get the tag team back as Rezar was reportedly cleared to return to in-ring action.
The idea was that AOP was not going to rejoin Seth Rollins and there were doubts about the tag team's role following their reintroduction.
It was added that Paul Heyman was high on Akam and Rezar and the former RAW Executive Director wanted the duo to be his Road Warriors. Triple H also backed the tag team, which was the reason why WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering was paired up with AOP.
Vince McMahon, however, didn't share the same sentiments as Triple H and Paul Heyman.
"The only thing I had heard…because he had just gotten cleared and the idea was that he was not going to be back with Seth Rollins, which was their original role but they didn't know where they would be. When Paul Heyman was there, Paul Heyman wanted to make them his Road Warriors and Levesque did too because he even brought in Ellering for them and they were total Road Warrior rip-offs. It's interesting that those two wanted to make them into Road Warriors and then Vince just decided whatever." H/T: WrestlingNewsCo
#1. More details on WWE's third-party ban
WWE's latest edict continues to dominate the headlines as the reactions to it have been overwhelmingly negative.
In case you didn't know, WWE has told its talents to stop engaging with third-party platforms such as Cameo and Twitch. The Superstars have been given thirty days to cease all relations, and the inability to do so could lead to fines, suspensions, and abrupt contract terminations.
Vince McMahon even sent a letter to the talents in which he outlined the company's directive on engaging with third-party platforms. WWE also reportedly told the talents that they own the rights to their real names. The entire situation has not been well-received backstage.
There is also a lot of confusion regarding the new rule. Dave Meltzer revealed on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio that many people backstage are unsure about what the new edict means.
Cameo and Twitch are said to be on the list of banned platforms, but the assumption is that YouTube is safe.
Here's what Meltzer stated on the WOR:
"As far as I know, nobody seems to know what it means. They think it means no Cameo; they think it means no Twitch. I know it means no [Bang Energy]. Lana did a commercial for them. I was told that specifically, that and Twitch."
"Nobody exactly knows. The assumption is that YouTube is fine; that's the assumption. The assumption is Twitch is not fine. I know that doing commercials for anybody is not fine, that I know. That was always gonna be not fine. The one that has a lot of people upset was them telling people that they own their real names because everyone knew that WWE owns your stage names, of course. That's a given. But the idea that they own your real names, I don't know what that means, and it hasn't been explained, but I know talent has been told that because when Paige switched one of her things to Saraya, it was like that ain't gonna fly because it's still banned, I guess. We'll see how it all plays out…Most of the talent is not happy, from what I gather." H/t WrestlingNews.co
The WWE talents are reportedly quite unhappy, and it would be interesting to see how the situation plays out in the weeks to follow.
