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On-screen, the biggest WWE moment of the last week came on Sunday when Randy Orton defeated Edge in the main event of the Backlash pay-per-view.
Will the 45-minute match go down as 'The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever'? In WWE’s record books, yes. In reality, the match might not be the greatest that fans have ever witnessed, but it is fair to say that both men came out of the much-anticipated encounter with a ton of credit.
Behind the scenes this week, we learned how Daniel Bryan initially reacted when he was reprimanded – and later fired – following The Nexus' invasion angle in 2010, while a five-time Intercontinental Champion rejected the opportunity to reunite with his former faction members over WrestleMania 36 weekend.
Let’s take a look at the full details behind those stories, plus eight others, as we count down 10 of the best backstage tales that have been revealed this week about WWE Superstars and storylines.
#10 Wade Barrett rejected an offer from WWE
Stu Bennett (fka Wade Barrett) decided not to renew his WWE contract in 2016 after growing frustrated with his lack of television time and direction as a character.
You may have read recently that Darren Young – Barrett’s former colleague in The Nexus – agreed a deal with WWE to appear at WrestleMania 36, but the booking had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Well, Barrett revealed this week that he was also presented with an offer by WWE. However, unlike Young, he did not like the deal and he chose to turn it down.
#9 The events that led to Daniel Bryan’s WWE firing
In 2010, Daniel Bryan was briefly fired by WWE after he choked ring announcer Justin Roberts with a tie during The Nexus’ invasion on RAW.
Bryan initially thought his job would be safe after he was told that the situation would "blow over", but he received a phone call from Vince McMahon at the end of the week informing him that he had been released.
In a story from Arn Anderson’s podcast, the former WWE producer said he watched on from backstage as a "bug-eyed" Bryan questioned what he did wrong while he was being reprimanded for going too far with his attack on Roberts.
Anderson added that Bryan had a "blank look" and he had no idea that choking was not allowed.
#8 Former WWE producer wanted Kevin Owens to turn face in 2015
Kevin Owens made a huge impact in 2015 when he defeated John Cena on his WWE main roster debut at Elimination Chamber.
The former NXT Champion quickly became popular with fans and it was not uncommon for him to receive more cheers than boos at the time, despite the fact that he was being presented as one of WWE’s top heels.
Arn Anderson, who worked as a producer for WWE when Owens debuted, said this week on his podcast that he wanted “The Prizefighter” to turn babyface immediately after his debut, but the company’s decision-makers stuck with him as a heel for the next four years.
#7 Details on The Undertaker’s 2019 return
The Undertaker and Goldberg made swift returns to WWE programming following their disappointing match at Super ShowDown in June 2019, with ‘Taker competing at Extreme Rules in July and Goldberg competing at SummerSlam in August.
At the time, it was widely assumed that both Superstars wanted to redeem themselves for their match in Saudi Arabia, which is why they were back inside a WWE ring within a matter of weeks.
The Undertaker addressed that speculation on the latest episode of his ‘Undertaker: The Last Ride’ series on the WWE Network by confirming that he had already agreed to work the Extreme Rules event before his match against Goldberg in Saudi Arabia.
#6 Why WWE briefly removed Rusev from Undertaker match
There was a lot of speculation in 2018 that WWE removed Rusev from his Greatest Royal Rumble casket match against The Undertaker due to him tweeting, “Bury me softly, Brother,” in the weeks leading up to the show.
However, the man himself said in a video on his YouTube channel that Vince McMahon replaced him with Chris Jericho because he wanted “The Bulgarian Brute” to receive a push in WWE as a babyface, which would have been problematic if he lost against The Undertaker.
In the end, a Saudi Prince questioned why Rusev had been removed and requested to add him back to the match, so that’s exactly what WWE did.
#5 Bret Hart’s advice for Edge before Backlash
Bret Hart knows a thing or two about competing in great wrestling matches, so it should come as no surprise that Edge spoke to his fellow Canadian before facing Randy Orton in a match that WWE promoted as ‘The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever’.
Speaking on WWE Backstage, Hart revealed that he advised Edge to imagine that he was in the front row at Backlash and he was watching himself wrestle.
“The Hitman” added that the 11-time World Champion sent a text after the match thanking him for the helpful advice.
#4 CM Punk was supposed to win the 2008 Royal Rumble
In 2008, John Cena made a sooner-than-expected return when he recovered from a torn pectoral muscle injury to win the WWE Royal Rumble, setting up a WrestleMania XXIV Triple Threat match against Triple H and Randy Orton in the process.
CM Punk said on this week’s episode of WWE Backstage that, had it not been for Cena’s miraculous return, he was originally booked to win that year’s Royal Rumble.
As it turned out, he won the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania and cashed in later in the year to become the World Heavyweight Champion.
#3 Bret Hart wishes he stayed in WWE
Bret Hart has been very outspoken over the last two decades about his disappointing three-year run in WCW, while he has also reflected on his controversial 1997 exit from WWE in countless media interviews.
It is fair to say that the five-time WWE Champion could have been treated better by both companies, but it seems that he is particularly unhappy with how he was booked in WCW.
Despite the bad feeling that he had towards WWE in the late 1990s, Hart said on WWE Backstage that he wishes he figured out a way to stay with the company instead of joining their biggest rival.
#2 The truth behind the Randy Orton-Tommaso Ciampa tweets
Two weeks ago, Randy Orton had some fun on Twitter after WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House by joking that the show was full of leg-slapping – a technique that Superstars use to make their moves sound more impactful.
This led to a back-and-forth exchange over social media with Tommaso Ciampa, who said he sends his daughter to sleep by showing her matches that involve Orton.
In various media interviews over the last week, “The Viper” has explained that while he is simply joking around on Twitter, he has genuine concern for Superstars in WWE NXT who are harming their bodies by working a high-risk style in matches.
He used Ciampa as an example as somebody who he wants to work with, but he stressed that NXT is not “the top” and Superstars should still strive to be on WWE RAW and WWE SmackDown.
#1 The Undertaker originally had a different WWE opponent in 2019
Elias disclosed an interesting piece of information in an Instagram post to promote Chapter 4 of ‘Undertaker: The Last Ride’ on the WWE Network.
WWE’s resident guitarist wrote that he was originally supposed to face The Undertaker at Super ShowDown 2019 instead of Goldberg, which is why he was involved in an altercation with “The Deadman” on the post-WrestleMania 35 episode of RAW.
However, plans changed and The Undertaker vs. Goldberg ended up taking place in Saudi Arabia, while Elias was eliminated by eventual winner Mansoor in the 51-man Battle Royal.
