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It's time for another edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup. Even though the focus is on Elimination Chamber, many other stories are being discussed in professional wrestling.
Bayley and her long-time partner, who works for AEW, called off their engagement. A current WWE Superstar revealed the backstage WWE reaction to the time he mentioned AEW on RAW.
A retired former champion dropped a big teaser regarding a possible in-ring return on Twitter. A story about Kevin Owens' attempts to get a couple signed by WWE has also been covered in today's lineup.
There's also a WrestleMania 37 match card update. Four huge matches are reportedly penciled in for the WWE pay-per-view.
#5. WWE star Bayley and Aaron Solow call off their engagement
Aaron Solow took to his Twitter handle to announce that his engagement with Bayley has been called off. Bayley and Solow came to a mutual decision to end their 11-year relationship. It was revealed that they both had different ideas about their future as a couple.
In the message, Solow addressed Bayley as Pam (her real name is Pamela Rose Martinez.) He said that he and Bayley would continue to be friends and support each other in their personal lives.
Solow issued the following statement:
"This has been an extremely difficult decision to make. Pam and I have come to the realization that we have a completely different idea of what we want our future to look like; because of this, we feel that it would be in our best interests to call off our engagement and end our relationship. We have a lot of great memories together that we'll forever cherish. We've agreed to remain friends and will continue to support each other in our careers and lives. We ask that you please respect our privacy on this matter," wrote Solow on breaking up with Bayley."
Aaron Solow first met Bayley in 2010, and the couple got engaged in 2016. Solow is currently a member of Cody Rhodes' Nightmare Family, and the seasoned independent wrestler has been an active competitor for AEW in recent months. He has consistently competed on AEW Dark.
As of this writing, Bayley has not commented on the engagement getting called off. She remains a prominent star on SmackDown.
#4. Sami Zayn reveals backstage WWE reaction to his AEW mention on RAW
Sami Zayn's Electric Chair' segment from the RAW episode on May 27, 2019, turned quite a few heads. The former Intercontinental Champion surprisingly mentioned AEW on live WWE programming.
Zayn took questions from the fans in attendance while he sat in an electric chair. But Zayn criticized these questions, and he offered several alternatives that could have been asked instead.
It should be noted that the segment was unscripted, and Zayn's subsequent AEW mention was also off the cuff. Zayn said that the fan could have asked him about anything, even AEW.
Sami Zayn revealed during an exclusive interview with SK Wrestling's Rick Ucchino that his AEW namedrop received unfavorable backstage reactions.
"So it wasn't entirely, entirely off the cuff, but it was off the cuff to a certain degree, and the reaction was, uh, let's say unfavorable [laughs] since the electric chair met its demise that very same week."
AEW had announced its arrival at the time. While the promotion was yet to launch Dynamite, the Tony Khan-led company was already the talk of the town.
Sami Zayn explained that AEW was the trending topic because the promotion had announced a big television deal. The realization had set in that AEW was a legitimate competitor to WWE, and he was ready for counter questions about WWE's new rival in the business.
"So it was right on everybody's mind. It was super, super fresh, and I think they had just announced this TV deal. They had just announced that this wasn't just going to be a pay-per-view. This is going to be a competitor and all this sort of stuff. And they tell me that we're doing this segment where it's legitimately, you know, unplanned questions, and anybody could ask anything. So at the time, this was the number one topic in the wrestling world. So you kind of expected to be asked about it."
Sami Zayn did a fine job as a heel during the Electric Chair segment, but WWE edited out the AEW mention from its YouTube video.
#3. Former WWE Divas Champion Paige teases an in-ring return
Paige officially announced her in-ring retirement on the WWE RAW episode after WrestleMania 34. The 2-time Divas Champion was forced to end her in-ring career due to a serious neck injury. But the British wrestler has always been hopeful about a potential return to the ring.
A Tweet from WWE on Fox fueled some speculation about Paige's future. The account tweeted out a photo of Daniel Bryan and Edge this past week on SmackDown. The caption read, "Retirement."
Edge and Daniel Bryan are two of the few Superstars who have overcome career-threatening injuries. In this regard, Paige might hope to emulate Edge and Bryan.
Paige had revealed in an interview with Inside The Ropes last year that an in-ring comeback is always possible. While it might not happen anytime soon, Paige didn't rule out pulling off a miraculous return.
"I think it is always a possibility one day; you can never say never," Paige said. "It's not going to be any time soon. That's mostly all I can say about it; it's really hard because I just had a neck surgery in August. My neck is just getting healthier quicker the second time around, which is crazy; I feel absolutely fantastic. So, we'll see where it goes." H/t Abhilash Mendhe of SK Wrestling
Paige even revealed that her neck felt "wonderful" in a tweet posted in October 2020.
The 28-year-old former WWE star has age on her side. She also has many recent success stories to take inspiration from if she dreams of resuming her wrestling career.
#2. Kevin Owens "fought" for WWE to sign Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis
Maria Kanellis was a guest on the Dropkick podcast, and the former WWE Superstar spoke about Kevin Owens' influence in her WWE return.
Kanellis revealed that Owens went out of his way to get the couple signed by WWE. Maria Kanellis returned to the WWE with her husband, Mike Bennett. WWE pushed them as an on-screen couple, but their WWE stint quickly went off the rails.
Kanellis even added that Owens apologizes to them for their WWE run to this very day.
"Kevin Owens was fighting for us to come into WWE, he still apologizes, but the plan was to build Mike as a singles wrestler."
Maria Kanellis revealed that the original plan was for Mike to be pushed as a singles Superstar. However, Maria's pregnancy and Mike's struggles with addiction forced WWE to change its plans.
"Somewhere along the way, and I have a feeling it has a lot to do with him coming out with his addiction and then me announcing that I was pregnant. I think they just kind of took a step back from us and everything they wanted to do with us, but I say this to Mike all the time that the second week we were there, we were already dead in the water." H/t Danial Ali From The DropKick Podcast
Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis returned to Ring of Honor following their WWE release.
#1. WWE WrestleMania 37 match card update
WWE WrestleMania 37 is all set to take place at the Raymond James Stadium. The two night-event will begin on April 10.
WWE usually plans the WrestleMania card well in advance, but the pandemic's unpredictable nature has caused understandable delays. WWE still has two months to plan the show, but reports have suggested the company is leaning toward four top matches.
WrestleVotes reported that WWE conducted a creative meeting, and four matches are reportedly on the books. Edge is expected to choose Roman Reigns as his WrestleMania opponent. The battle of Spears seems like a worthy marquee match for the show.
Bianca Belair is also expected to pick the champion from SmackDown, and the dream match against Sasha Banks was always going to be the preferred choice.
Another singles match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt is also being talked about for WrestleMania. The final match on the list is a tag team contest featuring Bad Bunny. Dave Meltzer reported a few days ago that WWE wanted to have Bad Bunny and Damian Priest in a match against The Miz and John Morrison.
WrestleVotes' report concluded by stating that while several ideas have been examined backstage, nothing is currently set in stone.
"Conversation with a source recently stated the latest WrestleMania creative meeting had Edge v Reigns, Belair v Banks, Orton v Wyatt, Bad Bunny Tag on the books w/ nearly everything else open, including the WWE title matchup. Same source stressed nothing is set in stone, however."
As reported exclusively by SK Wrestling, WrestleMania 37 is also reportedly set to be a '"parade of former stars."
Which are the matches that you want to see at WrestleMania 37? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
