WWE News Roundup: Former champion released despite agreeing for paycut, Paul Heyman breaks silence after betraying Brock Lesnar, Top star responds to fans' criticism

Welcome to another edition of the daily WWE News Roundup where we try and bring the biggest news stories from the world of WWE. The company is gearing up towards its next big event, Elimination Chamber. The last premium live event, Royal Rumble, received mixed reviews and faced criticism.

One superstar, in particular, felt the wrath of the fans after the show, which we will take a look at. This article will also see what Paul Heyman had to say after aligning with Roman Reigns and betraying Brock Lesnar at the event.

Apart from that, we will take a look at some interesting stories revolving around other top names. So without any further ado, let us dive in and check out some of the biggest and most newsworthy stories of the day:

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#5 Nia Jax was released by WWE despite agreeing to take a paycut

Former RAW Women's Champion Nia Jax has revealed that she offered to take a pay cut ahead of being released by the company. Speaking to Renee Paquette on The Sessions podcast, the Unstoppable Force gave details about her conversation with John Laurinaitis when he called to let her go.

“He was just like, ‘Hey, kid, I hate to do this.’ Instantly when he said that I was like, ‘Oh, am I getting released?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m so sorry. Due to budget cuts…’ you know the whole spiel. I was just like, ‘Oh, okay, well I’ll take a pay cut if that’s what’s needed,’ just because I knew it was a whole script.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, that’s not it,'' said Nia Jax

Nia Jax had been with WWE for a significant amount of time and her release came as a big surprise. Jax had been off television after requesting time away, it was during this time that the company decided to release her as part of budget cuts.

#4 Paul Heyman breaks silence after betraying Brock Lesnar

At Royal Rumble, Paul Heyman assisted Roman Reigns in dethroning Brock Lesnar as the WWE Champion. During Lesnar's match with Bobby Lashley, Reigns interfered and hit The Beast with the WWE Title belt - which was handed to him by Lesnar's former advocate Paul Heyman.

Heyman had been by Reigns' side up until Brock Lesnar returned and The Tribal Chief seemingly disposed of the advocate. However, the whole act unraveled at the Rumble and Paul Heyman betrayed Lesnar in a show of allegiance towards the Universal Champion.

Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns are set to face each other at WrestleMania 38 after The Beast Incarnate won the Royal Rumble match.

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#3 Vince Russo on why Brock Lesnar is in the Elimination Chamber WWE Title match

Brock Lesnar was announced as one of the participants of the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Title. Although Lesnar is locked to face Reigns at WrestleMania, he told WWE Champion Bobby Lashley that he wants the match to be a championship vs championship match.

Speaking on Sportskeeda's Legion of RAW, Vince Russo explained what the company's logic for putting Lesnar in the Chamber match could be:

"The way they're looking at it, bro is that it's another chance for Roman Reigns to scr*w Brock Lesnar,'' Russo said. ''That's all it is. He's going to scr*w him again and we're going to get more heat on Roman Reigns going into the match. That's it. Period. That's what it's about."

Despite being a multi-time World Champion in the company, this will be Brock Lesnar's first match inside the Elimination Chamber.

#2 Kofi Kingston responds to fans targetting him after Royal Rumble botch

Former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston took to his social media to post a heartfelt message after being targeted by many fans for his botched spot at Royal Rumble. Kingston acknowledged that his elimination was a botch and he could not execute the dare-devilish feat he had attempted.

"The past couple days on social media, I’ve gotten a lot of “Why would you think that was even possible?” and “Why would you even try that?” The answer to that question is quite easy: because of the potential reward. What if you were to succeed in overcoming what is deemed “impossible”... he sense of accomplishment felt when you beat the odds and brazenly defy the probabilities is purely ecstatic,'' said Kingston

The New Day member then added that it is only by taking such risks that people's questions turn into adulation. If he were to be successful in his attempt then fans would say 'I never thought that would be possible!.

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#1 Ronda Rousey to team up with Sasha Banks at WWE Live Event

The 2022 Women's Royal Rumble winner Ronda Rousey is set to face Charlotte Flair and Shayna Baszler in a tag team match alongside Sasha Banks. The match is scheduled to take place at an upcoming SmackDown live event in Quebec.

The match was announced during a commercial break on RAW. It revealed that The Baddest Woman On The Planet will be in action on March 6, 2022, SmackDown live event in Laval, Quebec.

It is interesting to note that Rousey will team with Sasha Banks to face her old ally in Shayna Baszler along with The Queen.