WWE Rumor Roundup: Multi-time World Champion rejected company's contract because of his wife; Released Superstar announces Royal Rumble entry; Horrified reaction to Brock Lesnar botch - 19th January 2020

Welcome to another edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup where we try and bring the latest rumors and backstage stories from the world of WWE. In today's edition, this article will take a look at some interesting stories related to the upcoming Royal Rumble PPV.

This article will also take a look at the truth behind a botched spot that could have led to a career-ending injury and how the top Superstars involved in that match managed to save the situation. We will also talk about why a former two-time WWE Champion did not want to sign with the company.

So without further ado, let us dive in and take a look at the biggest rumors and stories from the day:

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#5 AJ Styles rejected a WWE contract because of his wife

On the recent episode of WWE Untold on the WWE Network, AJ Styles revealed why he rejected WWE's offer in 2001. He stated that although WWE was impressed with his performance in the few matches that he was a part of, he did not want to sign with the company as it would mean moving to Ohio.

"I wanted to make sure that she was able to go after her dream. That was very important to me. Mine could come second, so I didn’t take the developmental with WWE in Cincinnati. Years later, it ended up leading me back to WWE at the perfect time."

AJ Styles went on to become one of the biggest Superstars in TNA and is still considered the best TNA Original from the era. AJ Styles later joined WWE in 2016 and has managed to become a two-time WWE Champion since then.

AJ Styles also joked about how his wife has made a mistake by marrying him.

"My wife is brilliant, though I like to say she made a mistake in marrying me. She worked so hard to get to college and earn a scholarship, and her dream was becoming a teacher." H/T: Sports Illustrated

In recent memory, WWE Superstar Omos has paired up with AJ Styles as The Phenomenal One's bodyguard on RAW.

#4 Karl Anderson announces WWE Royal Rumble entry

Former WWE Superstar and one-half of the IMPACT Tag Team Champions, Karl Anderson, recently 'declared' himself and his partner Doc Gallows as a part of the upcoming WWE Men's Royal Rumble match.

Karl Anderson is currently a part of IMPACT Wrestling and is also seen on AEW along with his tag team partner. When Brian Gewirtz raised questions on Superstars 'declaring' themselves as a part of the Royal Rumble match, Anderson replied by jesting that even he will insert himself into the match.

Be careful Brian, as you know and I’ve seen with humans there, you’ll drive yourself insane.....But with your logic, here we go, #GoodBrothers declare ourselves in the rumble !

Former WWE Tag Team Champions The Machine Gun Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows were released by WWE last year due to the COVID-19 budget cuts.

Although Gallows and Anderson had been given lucrative contracts by WWE to keep them from going to AEW, their eventual release led to the two of them joining IMPACT Wrestling.

#3 WWE legend Kurt Angle reveals his reaction to Brock Lesnar's botch during their match

Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar faced each other at WrestleMania XIX for the WWE Championship. Angle had headed into the match as the WWE Champion and was supposed to put Brock Lesnar over by losing the WWE Championship.

While Lesnar did come out as the WWE Champion, things did not go according to plan as Brock Lesnar's attempt at a shooting star press went awry and the former WWE Champion landed on his neck.

Speaking to the Wrestling Perspective podcast, Kurt Angle revealed that he thought Lesnar might not have been able to get up and he would have had to retain the WWE Championship, despite being injured himself.

''The first thing I thought when he landed on his head, I said, 'S***! I'm gonna have to hold the title for another month.' The reason why I lost to him, I was supposed to have a good title run for a while and I broke my neck again and I had to have surgery."H/T: WrestleZone

Kurt Angle stated that he had to lift Brock Lesnar up, following which Lesnar was able to F-5 Angle and pin him.

Brock Lesnar is currently no longer under contract with WWE, although that could change in the near future.

#2 Jake Hager reveals his favorite WWE Royal Rumble moment

Current AEW Superstar and former WWE World Champion Jake Hager recently spoke to Fightful and talked about his favorite Royal Rumble moment. The Superstar formerly known as Jack Swagger said that the Royal Rumble where he was thrown out by Brock Lesnar in a matter of seconds was his favorite.

The reason behind former WWE Superstar Jake Hager being happy with the spot was that he received a very good payday for that short appearance in the Royal Rumble match.

"The time I was in there was the shortest where Lesnar just threw me out. I really think that was my favorite because that was the most I got paid for a Royal Rumble with the shortest time. Who knows how they decided to pay us. But, for some reason, that was a good payday for me. It was literally seven seconds. It was like duck a clothesline, F-5, see ya." said Jake Hager.''

Jake Hager is currently a part of Chris Jericho's Inner Circle in AEW and is also a competitor in Bellator MMA.

#1 Former writer Vince Russo blasts WWE for being stale

Vince Russo recently spoke on SK Wrestling's Off the SKript and talked about the state of the current WWE product. While talking about Vince McMahon's Royal Rumble win in 1999, Russo said that such unpredictable moments are what makes WWE special.

He went on to say that the product has become quite predictable and that is the main issue with WWE today.

“This is why it’s so stale today. When you do situations like Vince McMahon wins the Royal Rumble, David Arquette becomes WCW Champion, Vince Russo gets speared out of the cage and all of a sudden he’s the Champion... When you do things like that, bro, that are so out of the realm of predictable and what we repeat 100 times, what that does for a writer, bro, is it opens up the creative envelope. Now, bro, you can go down so many roads you couldn’t go down before.”

It looked like WWE were heading in that direction with Adam Pearce facing Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble. However, this week on SmackDown it was announced that Kevin Owens will be replacing Pearce as The Tribal Chief's opponent at the Royal Rumble.