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Welcome back to another edition of Sportskeeda's daily WWE News Roundup, where we take a look at some of the top news stories over the last 24 hours.
A released star has released that he was asked not to leave the company three years ago as they had something in store for him. Four-time World Champion Seth Rollins is set to achieve a massive milestone at WrestleMania 38.
Additionally, a talent achieved a rather unique feat of appearing on both WWE and AEW television on the same night. Also, Stone Cold Steve Austin has made a massive announcement for WrestleMania 38 week.
Without further ado, let's dive straight into the latest news roundup. Be sure to comment down and let us know your thoughts and reactions on the same.
#5 Shane Thorne was told not to leave WWE in 2018
Shane Haste, formerly known as Shane Thorne, was one of the many stars released by WWE last year. During a recent appearance on the Two Man Power Trip podcast, he revealed that he intended to leave the company in 2018 but was told not to as they had something for him.
"I was led to believe I had a good singles run coming. I said, 'I think I'm going to leave' too and they told me don't, 'they have something for you.' So, I stayed. We had been teaming for a long time, so I wanted to see for myself as well. You can pitch ideas all day, but I feel they want their own ideas. You see people, their ideas get picked up, but you can also wait for an idea come to you and they work around that. I got a lot of freedom with that storyline. 'How do you want me to be?' 'Be angry.' None of the promos were scripted, just, 'whatever you want to say, go say it,'" he said. (h/t Fightful)
After spending several years in NXT, Shane Thorne was brought up to the main roster in 2020. In September 2020, he was repackaged with a new ring name Slapjack, and revealed as one of the members of the faction Retribution.
#4 Seth Rollins to reach a massive milestone at WrestleMania 38
Monday Night RAW Superstar Seth Rollins is set to achieve a massive milestone at WrestleMania 38 later this year. Rollins has been one of WWE's top stars over the last decade, winning several Championships. Currently, he has wrestled on the main card of a WWE PPV 99 times.
This means that at WrestleMania 38, he will have his 100th PPV match for the company, becoming only the 15th star to achieve this feat. Currently, the record is held by Randy Orton with 179 PPV matches.
While Seth Rollins was rumored to be involved in the WWE Championship scene at WrestleMania 38 earlier, that doesn't seem to be the case now. As of now, it is unclear who Rollins will face on the Show of Shows. However, it's unlikely that the company will not have one of their biggest stars competing at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
#3 Talent appeared on both WWE and AEW television on the same night
Indie talent Kayla Sparks achieved a unique feat last week as she appeared on both Friday Night SmackDown and AEW Rampage on the same night.
She first appeared in a segment with Los Lotharios on SmackDown and later had a match against Serena Deeb on AEW Rampage. However, this was made possible because Rampage was pre-taped this week.
#2 Dutch Mantell not interested in joining Cesaro in AEW
Cesaro's quiet WWE exit this past week was a massive topic of discussion among the pro-wrestling fraternity. As has been the case, fans immediately started speculating whether he could be the next big star to sign with All Elite Wrestling.
Cesaro's former manager in WWE Dutch Mantell, fka Zeb Colter, also gave his thoughts on the same. Mantell further stated that he has no interest in joining Cesaro in AEW no matter how much they call him.
"Since Jack is in AEW, that is a thought; they may be thinking about putting them back together, which wouldn't be a bad idea. They can call me as much as they want; I'm not really interested in going to tell you the truth. I am burnt out on wrestling. I'm just using wrestling as an excuse, but I've done it so many years, and I'm done. Not that I want to be done, I just am," said Dutch Mantell.
Since Cesaro's contract expired and he was not released, he doesn't have a non-compete clause. This means the Swiss Superman could appear for any other promotion as early as next week.
#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin makes a special announcement
WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin is heavily rumored to be making his in-ring return at WrestleMania 38 and face Kevin Owens. While the Texas Rattlesnake hasn't reacted to these rumors, he has now made a "special announcement" for WrestleMania week. Austin is set to release his new American Lager beer just two days before WrestleMania 38.
Meanwhile, Kevin Owens has dropped multiple teases about this rumored match via his social media. With just a little over a month to go for the Show of Shows, if WWE does plan to have Austin compete, we might see him return to WWE television soon.
