WWE Rumor Roundup - Hall of Famer's daughter released, Update on a Superstar's retirement, Seth Rollins' future - 15th May 2020

We're back with another edition of Sportskeeda's daily WWE Rumor Roundup. The frequency of news and speculation in the world of professional wrestling has been largely unaffected by the ongoing pandemic and we have a lot to cover in today's lineup as well.

Another WWE Superstar - the daughter of a Hall of Famer - was released by the company and there are reports that she made complaints against the WWE medical team.

The Undertaker's in-ring future is a topic of intense debate as WWE continues to gradually release episodes of 'The Last Ride' docuseries. We have an update about his official retirement and WWE's plans for The Deadman moving forward.

Seth Rollins' in-ring future has also been in discussion after his fiancé Becky Lynch announced that she was pregnant. There is an important update on Seth Rollins' contract status and whether or not he would also follow his partner into taking a break.

Talking about Becky Lynch, WWE's original plans for The Man before her pregnancy have also been revealed. It's interesting to note that Asuka was never originally scheduled to win the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Sami Zayn's status has also become a highly controversial subject and there are more details about what happened backstage before he was stripped of the Intercontinental title.

On that note, here is the latest WWE Rumor Roundup:

---

#5. Backstage notes on Rachael Ellering's WWE release

We know who we are, who we’ll always be and we have a choice: we can hide in the shadows or stand in the light pic.twitter.com/DKpF7rafka

— Rachael Ellering (@RachaelEversWWE) May 13, 2020

Rachael Ellering, daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering, confirmed her WWE release recently in a video posted on Twitter.

Ellering, who went by the name Rachel Evers in NXT, signed a WWE contract in January 2019, however, she suffered a torn ACL last year and was sidelined as a result of the injury.

Dave Meltzer revealed in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Ellering had issues with WWE's medical team and its procedures and she voiced her complaints to the company officials a few months ago. Unfortunately for her, the complaints were reportedly not well-received. The company offered her two options, which both essentially involved her WWE release.

Rachael Ellering's WWE Release was a company decision

It was noted that Ellering did choose one option and she was subsequently handed her release. Meltzer added that Ellering was probably released at the same time as the other talents and that her 30-day non-compete clause should also be over by now.

The 27-year-old second-generation talent had previously shown some interest in leaving the WWE, however, it was reported that her eventual release was 'a company decision.'

#4. Update on The Undertaker's official retirement

'The Last Ride' documentary has provided the fans with a never-seen-before peek into the real life of The Undertaker and while the company has put out just one episode of the series, it has been refreshingly amazing to see The Deadman finally shed the gimmick and just be himself.

The first episode revolved around the story of The Undertaker deciding to retire after his WrestleMania 33 match against Roman Reigns. The Phenom, however, would go on to have a few more matches. It's 2020 and he has still not officially announced his retirement from active in-ring competition.

Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue revealed in the latest episode of the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast that The Undertaker is not officially retired. WWE reportedly feels that the Boneyard match format could allow the Undertaker to have one final run before he brings down the curtain on his legendary career.

Tom revealed the following:

It may be for the fans but that doesn't mean it is for The Undertaker. You've got to consider The Undertaker has been planning his last match for about 10 years now. He said in the documentary that every time he gets out, they start pulling him back in, and right after that Roman Reigns match, he had a casket match in Saudi Arabia with Rusev and Aiden English, neither of whom are with the company anymore. Casket match, looked good, beat both men, that would have been a good way to go out but he decided to keep going. The WWE are hoping that with the Boneyard match format, it will allow The Undertaker to have one last run before calling it completely but it's up to The Undertaker what he does next. So at the moment, he is not officially retired.

#3. Backstage update on Seth Rollins' in-ring future following Becky Lynch's pregnancy

Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch are expecting their first child together and the timing of the revelation has caught everyone off guard.

Becky Lynch will take an extended hiatus from professional wrestling and there have been rumors going around that Seth Rollins is under no obligation to wrestle and he too may take some time off.

The rumors, however, are not true.

Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue told host Korey Gunz during the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast Seth will continue to wrestle as he is obligated to work due to the nature of his contract - that needs to be respected. The Monday Night Messiah will only be able to take a break if his contract allows him to do so, which would also need to be backed by the approval of the WWE management.

Tom explained:

There was some speculation and a report out saying Seth Rollins is under no obligation to wrestle. That's just not true. Seth will still be wrestling, meanwhile, Becky Lynch is obviously going to go home. Seth will take time when his contract allows it and WWE management is supportive of that. He is under the obligation to wrestle because he does have a contract that needs to be respected. I know that some people are opting out to wrestle at the moment but it's for a very different reason and Seth isn't that guy. He's going to choose to continue wrestling because he is Seth Rollins and that's what Seth Rollins does.

#2. Original plans for Becky Lynch before her pregnancy

Becky Lynch's pregnancy announcement on RAW stunned a majority of the WWE fanbase as well as the talents and backstage personnel. 'The Man' was at the top of her game and was inarguably the biggest female Superstar that the company had created in recent years.

Lynch, however, will take a break to become The Mom and the news of her pregnancy unsurprisingly led to many storyline changes in the WWE.

As revealed by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the original booking plan was for Becky Lynch to face Nia Jax at Money in the Bank 2020 for the RAW Women's Championship. The plan was for Becky Lynch to retain the title against Jax.

Shayna Baszler was reportedly the original choice to win the Women's Money in the Bank contract at the PPV and the Queen of Spades was set to be Becky Lynch's top rival for the Championship.

However, Becky Lynch informed WWE about her pregnancy and the creative team began to make some big changes to the feuds and angles that were already planned for TV.

Asuka was handed the Money in the Bank contract and subsequently the RAW Women's title, and the speculated plan is to have the Empress of Tomorrow feud with both Jax and Baszler going forward.

#1. Backstage notes on Sami Zayn's WWE status, the reason why he was stripped of the title, reported heat and more

The decision to give Sami Zayn his first main roster title was received with overwhelming positivity by the fans. Fast forward to a few weeks later and the leader of 'The Artist Collective' has been stripped of the title after he refused to return to work due to the fears of contracting the COVID-19 virus.

Sportskeeda''s Tom Colohue revealed that WWE did ask Sami Zayn whether he was ready to return to action. Zayn was uncertain about his immediate future and the WWE management realized that the Superstar may not be able to make his comeback for the foreseeable future.

The decision was then made to strip him of the Intercontinental title and a tournament was rightfully announced to crown the new Champion.

Tom noted:

Well, they asked Sami a few times if he was ready to come back. It's been a gradual process, he has not been able to say very certainly that, 'look, I will not be back', until recently. He came to a decision after he went to work at WrestleMania. Obviously had the match there, retained the belt. I don't know what made the decision for him, I'm sure he has his own personal reasons, so I'm going to leave the speculation there. Either way, the WWE knowing that he was not returning, at least for the foreseeable future, decided that they had to rewrite a lot of storylines. So they came up with the idea to strip him of the belt and put on a tournament.

Dave Meltzer also revealed in the Newsletter that there is a lot of unhappiness backstage over Zayn exercising the option to not wrestle during the pandemic.