WWE Rumor Roundup: Top name's future uncertain after missing WrestleMania, reason why Bray Wyatt lost to Randy Orton, superstar got released for cutting a 'bad promo' - 13 April 2021 

Welcome to another edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup where we bring the biggest stories and rumors from the world of WWE. After a spectacular two-night WrestleMania, WWE will capitalize on the momentum created by The Show of Shows.

In today's edition, we will take a look at a major decision WWE made at WrestleMania which surprised the talent, Bobby Lashley being upset with WWE creative, and much more. This article will also highlight how a superstar was released by Vince McMahon for cutting a bad promo ahead of his match.

So without further ado, let's dive in and take a look at some of the biggest stories and rumors from WWE:

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#5 Tom Phillips' future in WWE uncertain

One of the biggest takeaways from WrestleMania 37 was the absence of RAW commentator Tom Phillips. It had been rumored that Adnan Virk would replace Phillips as the lead announcer on RAW, but fans expected Phillips to at least be part of WrestleMania.

WrestlingInc reported that the reason for his absence on The Show of Shows was because of 'COVID protocols'. With Phillips being replaced on RAW, his future in the company seems uncertain. Dave Meltzer of WON reported that there is a chance that Phillips might be done with WWE.

Dave Meltzer verified the report and added that Tom Phillips could be done with WWE. Meltzer said that he didn't get full clarification on Tom Phillips' WWE status and expects to receive more details before the next RAW episode airs after WrestleMania 37.

Due to Phillips' absence, Michael Cole had to call all the matches on the two nights of WrestleMania 37.

It will be interesting to see what other shake-ups WWE has planned for the SmackDown announce team now that we have a new RAW announce team following WrestleMania.

#4 Brad Maddox was released from WWE for one bad promo

WWE legend and Cesaro's former manager, Dutch Mantell, appeared on Sportskeeda's Smack Talk. He talked about WWE's ways of operating and recalled the incident when former WWE Superstar Brad Maddox was released by Vince McMahon for cutting a bad promo ahead of his dark match.

''Actually I saw him fire a guy. When he came back from the ring one day he just fired him. He didn't fire him, he told somebody else to fire him. He said tell him to get his stuff and go home.''

Mantell gave more details, saying that Maddox had said some unkind words during the promo. As soon as his match got over, he was released and never worked for WWE again.

"They put him in the ring one night and Vince didn't like his promo and let him go."

Brad Maddox served as the RAW General Manager from 2013-15 but wasn't able to make a splash as an in-ring superstar during his tenure with WWE.

#3 Major change made to Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton's match at WWE WrestleMania 37

The Fiend faced Randy Orton in the opening match of Night Two of WWE WrestleMania 37. Unlike most of the other matches on the card, The Fiend's return match was considered underwhelming and did not live up to the fans' expectations.

However, in an unforeseen development, Wyatt's associate Alexa Bliss turned on The Fiend at WrestleMania, causing him to lose to Randy Orton. This week on WWE RAW indicated that the program between Wyatt and Bliss is set to continue. Here is what CSS reported:

As of last Friday, The Fiend was scheduled to beat Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37. Fightful Select reports Bruce Prichard and Vince McMahon were “instrumental” in deciding on the “surprise” finish we got instead.

It was also stated that the initial plan was to have Wyatt beat Orton convincingly, with The Viper being written off television following WrestleMania 37.

WWE management reportedly seemed very happy with the match and the finish even though the talent was left confused.

#2 Bobby Lashley unhappy with WWE creative

WWE Champion Bobby Lashley recently spoke on Out of Character with Ryan Satin. Lashley addressed WWE's decision to split The Hurt Business and how he felt about it.

A few weeks back on RAW, Lashley and MVP chucked Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander out of the group. While some fans thought it was just a swerve, it has now been established that Benjamin and Alexander are out of the faction:

“You know it hurt my heart. I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that. But it hurt my heart because it was something very special. In the wrestling business, it’s very seldom that a really special thing like that comes together where you can see that energy and people really get behind it.''

Lashley also admitted that while he enjoyed working with Benjamin and Alexander, The Hurt Business is not over yet. This week on RAW, it seemed like Lashley and MVP had brought in T-Bar and Mace as the replacements.

Though The Almighty got a convincing win over Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 37, it doesn't look like their feud is over by any means as of now.

#1 Vince Russo praises WWE Superstar Riddle

Former WWE writer Vince Russo talked about WWE's treatment of former U.S. Champion Riddle on Sportskeeda's Legion of RAW. Russo was furious at the opening match on RAW, which saw Lashley beat Riddle.

Vince Russo was perplexed at WWE's booking of Riddle. He said that having Riddle beaten by Sheamus and Lashley on back-to-back nights wasn't a good idea. Praising Riddle, he said that the former NXT Superstar has the talent to rise above these losses and make a big star of himself.

''Riddle, in my opinion, has enough charisma, enough personality, he will be able to overcome these defeats. His career is just starting out. He will be able to overcome this and that's what they are probably banking on but just the fact that Lashley is giving this guy a match, two days after WrestleMania, the first 20 minutes of this show was absolute nonsense.''

It was previously reported that Riddle was never meant to be the U.S. Champion and it only happened because Keith Lee had to take time off from WWE.