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Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly rumor roundup, where we will take a look at the top rumors from the world of WWE.
The list of major stars leaving the company just keeps on increasing as a top star's contract has expired. Furthermore, a former champion has requested his release from the sports entertainment juggernaut. We also have some interesting reports on Bray Wyatt's salary before his WWE release and the company saving a huge match for Roman Reigns.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top rumors from this past week. Be sure to let us know your thoughts and reactions on the same in the comments section below.
#5 Bray Wyatt's salary before WWE release
Former Universal Champion Bray Wyatt remains one of the most popular stars in professional wrestling even ten months after his WWE release. He was a massive fan favorite and one of the biggest merchandise movers for the company.
Dave Meltzer reported on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Wyatt was the third or fourth highest-paid star during his time with the company, earning around $4 million annually.
"At the time he left the company, he was believed to be the third or fourth highest paid performer on the roster with a contract in the $4 million per year range at the time he was cut and was a major merchandise draw," said Meltzer.
Bray Wyatt, real name Windham Rotunda, has been away from the professional wrestling world since his release. There were several rumors last year of him joining All Elite Wrestling, but those haven't turned out to be true. Fans are still waiting to see where the former WWE Superstar goes next.
#4 WWE saving huge Roman Reigns match for a bigger stage
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns is in the middle of the best run of his career. After defeating Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 38, Reigns has started a feud with Drew McIntyre.
However, Dave Meltzer has reported that WWE wants to save their one-on-one match for a bigger show.
“The deal is Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre, even though they’re working at the house shows, from a pay-per-view standpoint I guess they want to save that for the bigger shows,” said Dave Meltzer.
Fans expected McIntyre to challenge Reigns for his titles at WrestleMania Backlash. However, the two superstars will now clash in a six-man tag team bout also involving RK-Bro and The Usos.
Meltzer indicated that the company could be looking to book their match on a "bigger show" than this one, possibly SummerSlam or the UK stadium show 'Clash at the Castle'.
"They need something big. They don’t have that big match and I guess Roman…Roman’s the biggest star and his biggest opponent right now is Drew so they’re saving that for quote ‘a bigger show than this one’ because this one is whatever," said Meltzer.
Roman Reigns has held the Universal Championship for over 600 days now. During his run, back at Survivor Series 2020, he faced then-WWE Champion Drew McIntyre in a "Champion vs. Champion" match and managed to emerge victorious by using his heel tactics.
#3 Why Brock Lesnar was advertised for WrestleMania Backlash initially
Brock Lesnar has been on a break since losing his WWE Championship to Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 38. However, the company initially advertised him to appear at WrestleMania Backlash before later removing him.
Dave Meltzer has reported that Lesnar was never planned to be on the show. He further added that advertising The Beast Incarnate was a strategic decision to not give fans a hint that he'll be losing to Reigns at The Show of Shows.
"It is notable WWE had first advertised Brock Lesnar, even though he was never supposed to be on the show. The explanation was that if they didn’t advertise Lesnar, it would give people the clue that Lesnar wasn’t winning at Mania. Anyway, it’s direct false advertising," said Meltzer.
The WWE Universe highly praised Brock Lesnar for his most recent run where he made major changes to his character as well as look. Fans are eagerly waiting to see when Lesnar returns and they might not have to wait a lot as he is advertised for Money in the Bank 2022 later this year.
#2 Former champion has requested release from the company
Former NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong has reportedly requested his release from WWE, according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select. It has further been reported that the former Undisputed Era member is frustrated with multiple things and has requested his release multiple times but has been denied.
Dave Meltzer further reported that Strong has a couple of years left on his deal as he just signed a new contract last year.
“I guess you can quit, but then they can freeze your deal, so that doesn’t really do you any good. He’s got a couple years left on his deal because he just signed last year before everything changed. His wife’s in AEW. His friends are in AEW. If you look at things from his perspective, things would look much brighter for him in AEW than NXT," said Meltzer.
Meltzer further noted how all wrestling contracts give the promotions the power to release the performers anytime they want. However, the same is not the case the other way around as performers can't leave whenever they want.
As for now, Roderick Strong continues to appear on NXT 2.0 where he helped The Creed Brothers in their match against The Viking Raiders.
#1 Top female star's WWE contract has expired
As reported by Fightful Select, Candice LeRae's contract with WWE has expired and she is now a free agent. The former NXT Women's Tag Team Champions' profile has also been moved from the active roster to the alumni section on the company's official website.
LeRae has been away from NXT 2.0 for several months now on maternity leave. In December 2021, her husband and former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano also parted ways with the company after his contract expired.
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