WWE News Roundup: Change in plans for major star? Top name apologizes to The Undertaker, Paige's shot at Sonya Deville (January 24, 2022) 

Welcome to the latest edition of WWE News Roundup.

Over on Monday Night RAW, Doudrop went one-on-one against a top star on three consecutive occasions last year. She recently stated that these bouts were likely not part of the company's original plans.

A high-ranking backstage official apologized to The Undertaker not too long ago. Meanwhile, Paige took a massive shot at a current on-screen personality via Twitter.

Jim Ross has reacted to criticism of Triple H's in-ring work. Additionally, Mustafa Ali made headlines again when he blocked an official Twitter account.

Now without further ado, let's take a closer look at these news stories.

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#5. Doudrop thinks her best-of-three series with Bianca Belair was not part of WWE's original plans

In December 2021, Doudrop and Bianca Belair fought each other on three consecutive episodes of RAW. The latter emerged victoriously every time, as their matches lasted slightly more than 10 minutes.

During a recent chat with Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT, Doudrop mentioned that someone backstage must have genuinely liked their first showdown. The former WWE NXT UK star felt as such because, according to her, their best-of-three series was likely not the original creative plan for both women.

"The landscape is always evolving and changing and you may feel like 'OK, this is the way that we're going' but then because of X,Y, Z, things change and I don't think it was anybody's plan to put Bianca and Doudrop in a best of three, but we went out there and 'somebody' must have really liked it because then we did it again and again!" said Doudrop.

Despite losing the series to Belair, the 30-year-old has recently received a more significant on-screen push. She emerged victoriously from a Triple Threat against The EST of WWE and Liv Morgan to earn a shot at Becky Lynch's RAW Women's Championship.

The title contest will go down at this year's Royal Rumble event on January 29, and it could mark one of the biggest nights of Doudrop's career.

#4. Bruce Prichard apologizes to The Undertaker for booking him in poor matches against a former WWE name

While The Undertaker had an illustrious in-ring career in WWE, there were also a few bumps along the way. His now-forgotten feud with Heidenreich — who was part of the company in the mid-2000s — led to a few televised matches and several house show bouts.

While recently speaking on his Something to Wrestle podcast, Bruce Prichard apologized to The Deadman for booking him in "worse than awful" live event contests against Heidenreich. The WWE Executive Director did not mince his words while criticizing their matches.

"I'm sorry man. I gotta take exception [to The Undertaker and Heidenreich house show matches being referred to as "really bad"]. That's an example of being completely wrong. Those matches stunk to high heaven. They weren't 'really bad', they were awful. They were worse than awful. They were — I mean, if you saw that, it would take you weeks to get that stink out of your clothes. I would publicly like to say to The Undertaker, I'm sorry," said Prichard.

The Undertaker and Heidenreich's rivalry included two pay-per-view showdowns at Survivor Series 2004 and Royal Rumble 2005, as The Phenom defeated his opponent both times.

#3. Paige takes a shot at WWE official Sonya Deville; Naomi responds

Paige and Sonya Deville — once teammates in WWE — recently engaged in a heated Twitter exchange.

As embedded above, the kayfabe back-and-forth started with Deville's reaction to the former NXT Women's Champion's claim that she was the best General Manager in the company's history. While things have changed considerably since her GM stint ended in 2018, Paige did not hold back when the on-screen official claimed to be her current boss:

"I can still make you my b**ch anytime I want paige 2.0. @NaomiWWE come get this f**king clown shoe," wrote Paige.

Naomi, who is currently feuding with Deville, gave her two cents on the situation ahead of their match on this week's SmackDown. She received a response from the Anti-Diva as well:

Sonya Deville and Naomi's current feud has been building up for months, but it has not resulted in a one-on-one contest thus far. Instead, higher-ups have delayed an inevitable clash for both women on a few occasions, which is why many feel that their upcoming match could feature shenanigans.

However, as the ultimate babyface, Naomi seems to be the eventual victor whenever her storyline with Deville concludes.

#2. Jim Ross addresses those who criticize Triple H's in-ring work in WWE

With great fame also comes ample criticism, and WWE legend Triple H has had his fair share of detractors over the years.

However, Jim Ross strongly disagrees with those who feel that The Game was a "bad worker" in the squared circle. Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, the former WWE commentator put Triple H over as someone who was quite efficient at portraying a bad guy:

"He was a great heel and he ended up being an excellent worker. Anybody, if people don’t like Paul Levesque’s [Triple H's real name] work, it’s because of politics. You can’t tell me he was a bad worker. That’s bulls**t. C’mon, if you don’t like him, just say you don’t like him and no matter how good he gets, you’re not gonna like him," said Jim Ross.

JR added that he always thought the 52-year-old "had great potential" to grow as a performer in the business.

While Triple H has not publicly stated that his in-ring days are over, he likely won't be wrestling anytime soon. Last year, the 14-time world champion suffered a cardiac event caused by a genetic heart issue and later underwent a successful medical procedure.

#1. Mustafa Ali blocks one of WWE's official Twitter accounts

Mustafa Ali has been trending within the wrestling world ever since he revealed that he had asked for his WWE release. However, reports indicate that the company did not grant Ali his wish.

As a result, fans across Twitter have started a '#FreeAli' campaign, which recently drew the former RETRIBUTION leader's attention. Not too long ago, one of his supporters took to the social networking platform to highlight that the 'WWE on FOX' handle had blocked them.

In response, Ali blocked the said account to show support:

Interestingly, Friday Night SmackDown airs on FOX every week, and Mustafa Ali happens to be a part of its roster at the moment.

In an era where Vince McMahon's company has frequently released in-ring talents from their contracts, it should be interesting to see if the 35-year-old star appears on the blue brand again.

His last televised match came against Drew McIntyre on SmackDown in October 2021. Ali had been on a losing streak for a while before his months-long absence from the promotion.

Do you think he will return to in-ring action heading into WrestleMania 38? Let us know in the comments section below.