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We are back with another spicy edition of WWE News Roundup. This week’s episode of RAW was not received well by the fans, and the show failed to deliver anything that would keep the WWE Universe buzzing. However, we did come across a few interesting backstage incidents and updates from both the past and the present.
This includes incidents from the time when the likes of John Cena and The Rock were just starting out in WWE. While the latter was always a backstage favorite, we recently came to know that a WWE legend wanted to ruin The Rock.
In this article, we will take a look at the top stories that dominated the WWE headlines over the last few days.
#1 Backstage reason why AJ Styles is missing from WWE RAW
WWE Superstar AJ Styles has not made an appearance on RAW since WrestleMania 37. He won the RAW Tag Team Championships alongside Omos at the pay-per-view but has been absent from the Red brand ever since. This led to several fans questioning the creative team's decision to keep the Grand Slam Champion away from TV.
The latest backstage reports suggest that AJ Styles is missing from WWE RAW because there's nothing planned for him at the moment. Here's what Brian Alvarez had to say about Styles as well as other talents who have not appeared on the show since the pay-per-view:
"He (Brian Alvarez) also said that everyone is available to be used on Raw, and everyone who has been missing is simply because they haven’t had anything written for them. That would apply to the Raw tag team champions, AJ Styles & Omos."
AJ Styles and Omos defeated The New Day to win the titles at WrestleMania 37. They had a brief feud leading up to The Show of Shows, and it was expected that both the teams would continue with the rivalry at least until WrestleMania Backlash. However, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are now feuding with Elias and Jaxson Ryker instead of trying to reclaim their titles once again.
It was surprising to see that Styles and Omos have no good storylines in place for them since they won the RAW Tag Team Championships. Hopefully, the creative will have the two WWE Superstars return on RAW ahead of their next pay-per-view.
#2 Bret Hart reveals why Triple H and Shawn Michaels wanted to ruin The Rock in WWE
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart recently made a surprising revelation involving Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. According to The Hitman, Triple H and Shawn Michaels wanted to ruin The Rock during the latter’s early days in WWE.
He stated that the D-Generation X duo was ruthless and wanted The Rock to drop his Intercontinental Championship at one point. However, Bret Hart refused to beat The Rock for his benefit. Here’s what Hart had to say during his appearance on The 81 Podcast:
“Triple H and maybe even Shawn [Michaels], were pretty ruthless. If someone was tied to me or connected to me, they would try to ruin them. Even Dwayne Johnson [The Rock]. They really tried to crack him and bust his chops. I remember telling Dwayne all the time, ‘Don’t listen to these guys. You’re a really good talent and you don’t need these guys.’"
"I wrestled The Rock and they wanted me to beat him. Triple H did. He wanted me to beat Dwayne and win the Intercontinental Title. I refused. ‘What do I need the Intercontinental Title for?... I remember Triple H was sick about it because he had a thing for Dwayne and wanted to ruin him. He hated him."
Not long after this, Bret Hart was involved in the infamous WWE Montreal Screwjob, where he lost the world title to Shawn Michaels. Meanwhile, The Rock went on to become one of the biggest superstars in WWE history before pursuing a super-successful career in Hollywood.
#3 Randy Orton’s backstage reaction to teaming up with Riddle on WWE RAW
The latest episode of WWE RAW saw Randy Orton entering an interesting new chapter on the brand. He formed an alliance with Riddle that led to the creation of a new tag team, R-K-Bro. Orton stated that Riddle earned his respect during their match, and he is happy to work alongside The Original Bro. Backstage reports claim that The Viper was genuinely in favor of this idea.
“That site [Fightful] also says the plan after WrestleMania 37 was for Riddle’s program with Sheamus to continue. Obviously, plans changed. 'Those backstage in WWE said Orton was in favor of working with Riddle, and the changes made.' Moving Riddle into the angle with Orton, and the Drew McIntyre & Braun Strowman vs. MACE & T-BAR storyline were both decisions that were made last Monday hours before the show started.”
This tag team looks quite promising on WWE RAW. Randy Orton’s interactions with Riddle were hilarious and accounted for the very few entertaining segments we saw in an otherwise disappointing episode. It will be interesting to see what’s in store for Orton and Riddle in the coming weeks.
#4 JBL reveals his experience while working with a young John Cena in WWE
WWE Hall of Famer JBL recently conducted a Q and A session on his YouTube channel. During his interaction with the fans, he recalled working with John Cena during the latter’s early days in WWE.
JBL stated that Cena got everything about in-ring skills right away and credited him for being one of the most hard-working people he has ever seen in the business. The former WWE Champion stated that he was one of the first few people who worked with Cena. Here’s what he had to say:
"When I came along, John Cena was just coming up and he was not the John Cena you know now. You knew he had talent, now let me tell you the difference between an eight minute match and a 30 minute match. It is a world of difference. So, eight minutes is easy, it's formulated. You go out there you do a certain thing, you compete, you go home.”
“With 30 minutes you can't do that. You have to take people on a roller-coaster. It's hard. Some people never make that trancision from that eight minutes to a 30 minutes, because they never understand the ability to work. The first time that John Cena may have did that may have been with Kurt Angle, but I was one of the first. He got everything right away."
John Cena went on to become a 16-time World Champion in WWE. He was expected to return at WrestleMania 37 after he featured in one of the initial promos about the pay-per-view. Most recently, NXT Champion Karrion Kross stated that he would like to retire Cena. The WWE veteran then responded by posting a photo of Kross on his Instagram account, teasing a potential match on NXT.
#5 WWE Superstar Finn Balor gives update on his return
WWE Superstar Finn Balor lost his NXT Championship to Karrion Kross at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. The two engaged in a brutal match that ended in Kross' victory. Following the NXT-exclusive pay-per-view, Balor went missing from the Black and Gold brand. The former Universal Champion appears to have taken a break following his title loss.
Balor recently took to Twitter to confirm that he will return on WWE NXT next week. This also puts an end to all the rumors surrounding his main roster return. The Prince has several interesting storylines awaiting him on NXT. He will continue to pose a huge threat to Kross’ NXT Championship reign and could demand a rematch.
Finn Balor can also find himself involved in long-term narratives, including Kyle O'Reilly. The latter’s association with Balor kickstarted the internal turmoil amidst The Undisputed Era that eventually led to the stable’s shocking split. Most importantly, Balor is now free to pursue the WWE NXT UK title as was initially planned.
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