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Welcome to this week's edition of the top RAW backstage rumors. While Monday Night RAW had been going strong in terms of ratings for the past few weeks, the red brand saw a dip in rating last week.
With a solid lineup already ready for RAW, the show will look to bounce back and gain viewers this week. One of the rumors we will touch upon in this article is that if Kairi Sane done being with WWE.
The fact that WWE has removed her from the advertisements of Monday Night RAW has further added fuel to fire and speculation is strong that the former Women's tag-team Champion may be done with WWE.
So without further ado, let us take a look at 5 impactful RAW rumors:
#5 RAW Superstar Kairi Sane's WWE career over?
Dave Meltzer of WON has reported that Kairi Sane could be done with WWE. As per The Observer, WWE had plans to do a career-ending injury angle with her when it was time for her to leave WWE. This was before she got legitimately injured.
Sane, 31, is returning to Japan to be with her husband. This has been in the works for a while and the company has known about it since May if not earlier.
The plan was to have a RAW Superstar 'end' Kairi Sane's career and then go on to face Asuka at SummerSlam.
The idea in play before the Sane-Jax legit injury was to do a career-ending injury angle with her later when it was time for her to leave, which was to set up Asuka against that person at SummerSlam for the title.
It is certain that Kairi Sane is done with WWE, but what remains to be seen is if she would be making one last appearance for the company before she goes back to Japan.
#4 Alexa Bliss' relationship status with her former partner Buddy Murphy (RAW)
Alexa Bliss and Buddy Murphy had reportedly broken up in 2018. However, the two remained on good terms and constantly had photos with each other surfacing on social media. This led many fans to believe that they might have rekindled or at least are planning to.
However, Alexa Bliss put an end to those rumors when she replied to a fan who had asked her what her status with Murphy actually is.
Buddy & I split back in early ish 2018 . We share the animals and are friends :)
Alexa Bliss has gone record multiple times to praise RAW Superstar Murphy and talk about how good a friend he is. The Goddess is currently (apparently) dating singer Ryan Cabrera.
While Murphy isn't very open about his personal life, he has been making great strides on the professional front. The former RAW tag-team Champion is still part of Seth Rollins' faction and has been a part of RAW each and every week for the past few months.
#3 Randy Orton to face Drew McIntyre if Brock Lesnar can't return (RAW)
There has been a lot of speculation in regards to what the main event at SummerSlam would be. While the initial speculation suggested that Brock Lesnar will be returning for the biggest party of the summer and face RAW's top babyface Drew McIntyre, that may not happen.
WWE had hoped that the audience would have returned by the time SummerSlam arrives but the situation with COVID-19 has not improved much. As per Tom Colohue, in case Brock Lesnar is unable to return to WWE RAW due to travel restrictions, then it is likely that Orton will face Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam.
Orton vs. Edge was supposed to be the SummerSlam match with Brock Lesnar lined up for Drew McIntyre. Now that Edge is out of the picture, they have given Orton something to do while they work out what to do next.
If they can't get Brock Lesnar into the country, or if they just need someone for McIntyre, we may end up with McIntyre vs. Orton, but we need to kill a little bit of time on the way.
#2 Reason behind Ric Flair being paired with Randy Orton on RAW
The Nature Boy Ric Flair returned to RAW a few weeks back and helped The Viper Randy Orton blindside Christian. Orton then went on to punt the former World Champion leading to him being stretchered out of the arena.
The Dirtiest Player in the Game Ric Flair has been featured regularly on RAW lately and has become a manager of sorts for his former Evolution teammate Randy Orton.
Tom Colohue revealed the possible reason behind Flair and Orton becoming a pair again:
The most obvious suggestion from where I'm sitting would be that the WWE has brought back the Legend Killer, and want to close the angle out by punting one of the biggest legends in the history in the face. Certainly possible, wouldn't like to see it myself.
He also speculates that it could be because of RAW Superstar Randy Orton's limited contract:
More importantly, though, Orton has a limited date contract, so there are times when he just isn't available for use, he only works a set number of dates, and while the lack of live events at the moment is freeing him up a little bit, they are being very picky, particularly as regards to the number of matches that Orton wrestles is very low. Since WrestleMania, he's in fact, only wrestled the WrestleMania match and The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever. There would be times when Orton isn't there, and that means that they need someone to be a mouthpiece in those moments.
#1 Rey Mysterio's contract over with WWE (RAW)
As per Dave Meltzer of The Observer, Rey Mysterio's contract with WWE is finished and the icon is working without a contract right now.
There is no word on if he will be signing a new contract or what his future holds in WWE. Rey Mysterio has become one of the key Superstars on Monday Night RAW as of late and is in an ongoing storyline with Seth Rollins and his Disciples.
There is speculation that one reason why Mysterio is hanging around is that he wants to help his son Dominik get established in WWE. Dominik has also been part of the feud and shows up regularly on RAW.
Meltzer also stated that WWE were planning an 'Eye for an Eye' match between Rollins and Mysterio for Extreme Rules: Horror Show. Here is what Cagesideseats stated:
Dave Meltzer also says that there were plans in place for Seth Rollins vs. Mysterio in an “Eye for an Eye” match at Extreme Rules.
Will Rey Mysterio re-sign with WWE or leave? Only time will tell!
