WWE Rumor Roundup: Vince McMahon's reaction to Big E and Kofi Kingston taking the knee, why several stars missed RAW and more - 1 July 2020

In today's WWE Rumor Roundup, we take a look at the real reason Liv Morgan and others were not on Monday Night RAW and major plans for Andrade and Angel Garza. On top of that, we have details on the WWE Superstar who is reportedly not keen on moving to the United States and has refused to move to the main roster.

Before we get to all that, let us take a look at the two big stories of the day:

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Vince McMahon's reaction to Big E and Kofi Kingston taking the knee

Big E and Kofi Kingston took the knee on WWE SmackDown last month to show their solidarity with the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement. The movement has been in full flow across the world after the tragic incident involving George Floyd.

On The Sports Bubble with Jensen Karp, Big E spoke about Vince McMahon's reaction to the tag-team champions taking the knee. He made it clear that it was something they ran by the WWE Chairman before doing it and it was cleared without any pushback. He said:

So, we've done a few things, and I think we're going to continue to use some things like you mentioned, taking a knee, to bring attention to this movement on SmackDown. And the nice thing is, you know, we ran it by Vince McMahon, our boss, and he approved it. We got no pushback there.

The New Day also spoke about it on their podcast and Big E revealed that it was with the full backing of WWE. He added:

We got a lot of support from the company with the podcast and we can't typically put out the video, not the whole video because of the way the contract is with our podcast, but they were so supportive with us putting up the whole conversation because we felt like it was important for people to listen to this hour plus, and to see it and to see our faces and see our expressions. So we were thankful that we got support from the company too, but we've done different things. (H/T Credit: Wrestlinginc)

Why RAW Superstars were not on the show

Liv Morgan was not on WWE RAW because she was on a boat trip with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, according to the Wrestling Observer. They report that several others WWE Superstars missed because of various reasons but none were tested positive for COVID-19.

Natalya, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, and Austin Theory were the ones not on the show this week while Kevin Owens has taken a break from WWE already, just like Roman Reigns.

So Natalya wasn't there, but she did not test positive, that was a precautionary measure that we knew about going in.

Rey Mysterio and Dominik were scheduled to be on the show, they actually did a segment from home and Austin Theory wasn't there, and of the main characters, those were the only ones that when I watched the show, I immediately noticed. Like, no Randy Orton obviously. I don't know what that means. In a sense, I guess that would be the biggest one. I guess if he's not on next week's show and he's on the week after, I guess that will tell you something. Not all of these are COVID positives that I just named, like Natalya was not, but some of them were.

When WWE broke Alexis Bliss' heart

Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss missed WWE Evolution due to a concussion and she has finally spoken out about her situation back then. She had got concussed during a match and was keen on returning to the ring before the pay-per-view.

WWE were also keen on getting her back in action before the PPV but unfortunately, she got concussed once again. She took the impact test once before the PPV but while she was on her way to the pay-per-view.

"Unfortunately, I was dealing with concussions, and I had to do a live event. WWE wanted me to get back in the ring before Evolution. I was booked on the live events, and during a live event, I ended up getting re-concussed again. I remember being in the trainer's room after, and they said, 'you're concussed again. That means no Evolution,' which really sucked."

"It was heartbreaking because they said, 'take the impact test. There's a chance you might get cleared right before Evolution. We'll have you in the ring the day before to see how you're feeling,' and I ended up having really bad vertigo from the concussions. I couldn't do anything, and I found out literally as I was flying to Evolution I wasn't going to be cleared. It sucked, but it was a lot of fun being part of that moment and being able to watch it as a fan." (h/t Wrestling Inc.)

Major plans for Andrade and Garza?

WWE have been teasing some tension between Andrade and Angel Garza for a couple of weeks now. However, it looks like the 'breakup' is very unlikely to happen and they are set for glory.

Wrestling Observer report that the two are set to challenge for the WWE RAW Tag-Team titles soon. There is no report on if they would be winning the Championships, but they claim that Zelina Vega's associates are set to be involved in the title picture for sure.

Andrade and Garza are okay. I know they are in the long-term plans. They are okay for now, and I think Garza more than Andrade for the long-term. But short-term, you know I think Garza and Andrade are destined for the tag team title. If not, certainly championship matches.

Before Garza and Andrade get into the title picture, WWE need to finish off the feud between The Viking Riders and The Street Profits. They have been involved in an entertaining rivalry for some time now there needs to be an end to it soon.

WALTER not keen on moving to the United States

WALTER and Triple H

Wrestling Observer Radio have a big scoop and they report that WALTER has refused to move to the United States and work with the WWE main roster. They claim that he is not keen on moving permanently to the States and is only willing to make numbered appearances for WWE in the United States.

Dave Meltzer reports that this is not just based on the Coronavirus situation but it was something the current WWE NXT United Kingdom Champion has maintained for a long time.

Meltzer: WALTER is on a guaranteed contract. If they cut everyone, I believe, I could be wrong, I believe that he'd still get paid, but he's not coming to this country full-time. I mean, that's his WWEdeal. I mean, they want him in this country, they want him to come to the main roster.

Alvarez: He didn't want to come here before the pandemic.

Meltzer: He can't come here now anyway. His thing is that you can hook him over for some weekends, but he's not moving here, and he's not coming here every single week. So, that was just the deal he insisted on when they signed him, and they really wanted him bad. They don't want any stone unturned of someone who can go to AEW or whatever, although I think they are less adamant about it now.