10 Real-life WWE stories we learned this week: Vince McMahon soured on Superstar who refused to lose, 5-time Champion open to return after 9-year absence

#4 How Drake Maverick dealt with WWE release

I told ya...I’m not leaving 💛#WWENXT @WWENXT #ThankYou pic.twitter.com/QNvrnGUf36

— DRAKE MAVERICK (@WWEMaverick) June 4, 2020

Drake Maverick was one of 20+ Superstars who received their release from WWE in April 2020 as a cost-cutting measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It had already been announced that he would compete in a tournament on NXT to determine an Interim Cruiserweight Champion, so he continued to perform on WWE television after his release had been confirmed.

Maverick told talkSPORT that WWE’s decision to turn his release into a storyline, which eventually saw him rehired, led to some unpleasant messages from people on social media who accused him of exploiting his colleagues’ real-life situation for his own gain.

The WWE NXT Superstar admitted he had “some bad mental health days” due to the comments, as he would never purposely try to upset anybody.

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#3 Drew McIntyre unaffected by WWE’s ratings

WWE RAW’s television ratings hit an all-time low in July 2020, with the show bringing in an average viewership of just 1.561 million viewers for the episode that aired on July 13.

Drew McIntyre, the WWE Champion throughout RAW’s decline in viewers over the last four months, said in an interview with TV Insider this week that he is not letting TV ratings distract him from his current role in the company.

He added that other Superstars in his position have had issues in their personal life as a result of caring about viewing figures, so he chooses not to let it affect him.