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Welcome to today's edition of the WWE Rumor Roundup, where we take a look at the day's top stories. The company has confirmed one big return for SmackDown this week, but the backstage rumors have taken center stage in today's article.
We take a look at why Vince McMahon dropped the first names of two top Superstars and also an update on Mickie James. Before we get to all that, let us take a look at the headline-makers of the day:
Former WWE Champion AJ Styles confirms talks with AEW
AJ Styles has confirmed that he had the chance to join All Elite Wrestling before re-signing with WWE. The SmackDown star talked on his Twitch stream when he revealed that he held talks with AEW but never discussed money. He said:
“Yeah, there were talks. Look, it's a business. My contract in WWE was going to expire, and there were talks happening. The Bucks are my buddies. We never discussed money or anything, but there were talks about coming in. Again, it's all business.” [H/t WrestlingInc]
Matt Jackson, one half of the Young Bucks, confirmed on the Talk N' Shop podcast that he had pitched an exciting angle for AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson to debut at AEW as well.
He added that there were good talks with all three of the OC but that indirectly just helped AJ Styles get a better contract from WWE. He said:
"When we were originally going to do Dynamite, we were going to debut at Madison Square Garden. After the match, three of you, not just the two of you, the three of you were going to jump the guardrail, and we were going to have like a Bullet Club reunion. We were gonna throw up the too sweet and then the three of you were going to jump us and make us bloody and destroy us and then we were going to be off to the races. And it obviously didn't work out. I remember the first guy in this conversation we're talking about right now, he buzzed us, and he's like 'I just got too good of an offer, and I would have never got the offer without your guys offer, so I just wanted to say thank you."
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson had also re-signed with WWE but were a part of the Superstars released by the company in the mass exodus earlier this year.
Aleister Black and Andrade's WWE careers in jeopardy?
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon doesn't see a lot in Aleister Black and Andrade, according to Dave Meltzer. He reported on the Wrestling Observer Radio that the two have lost ground since the departure of Paul Heyman, who was pushing them to become the top stars on Monday Night RAW.
Meltzer adds that the two WWE RAW Superstars' careers could be in jeopardy as they are in a feud that would lead them nowhere. He said:
"When Heyman got replaced, I was kind of told, I mean, not soo much the Viking Raiders as that obviously came from the injury but, Aleister Black and Andrade were like the two guys who were really going to be in trouble because Vince McMahon doesn't necessarily see a lot in them as compared to what Heyman saw in them. It appeared that Zelina Vega is splitting up from Garza and Andrade, and I could see Garza kind of being forgotten, but if there is a split, then Andrade. You know, feels like he's going to be the one that just, like they are going to do Garza vs. Andrade. It's probably going to be Garza that goes over, and Andrade is the one that gets forgotten.”
WWE have split up Andrade, Angel Garza, and Zelina Vega, with the latter now going in as a singles star. As for Aleister Black, he is currently involved in a feud with Kevin Owens.
Why WWE shortened the names of Rusev and Cesaro
WWE have cut short the names of several Superstars, but the WWE Universe never really understood the reason behind it. Antonio Cesaro became Cesaro while Alexander Rusev was cut to just Rusev. Most recently, we also saw Buddy Murphy become Murphy.
Dave Meltzer finally had some interesting backstage news on the name changes and claims that they were the decisions of Vince McMahon. He added that the WWE Chairman wanted to ensure that the heels' names were not good enough. He said:
“There was a meeting and at the meeting, Vince goes ‘we gotta drop that first name. If we call him Alexander Rusev, people are gonna start gonna calling him Alex and Alex is not a good name for a heel.’ That’s the real reason so that’s why they dropped the first name. The same thing happened with Cesaro. The reason why they dropped [the name] Antonio Cesaro was because Vince said people are going to start calling him Tony and Tony is not a heel name so we gotta drop the first name.”
Cesaro is still with WWE, while Rusev was released in the mass exodus earlier this year. He is now a part of AEW as Miro.
WWE provide an update on Mickie James
Mickie James was in action against Asuka on Monday Night RAW this week. She was facing the WWE RAW Women's Champions for the title, but the match ended abruptly.
The match was going on well, and the WWE Universe were glued to their TV screens when the referee called for the bell just as the champion locked in the Asuka lock. It was clear that something was wrong, and Micky Foley even suggested that Mickie injured her shoulder during the match, which led to the hasty finish.
WWE released an official statement on the match and said:
"Realizing that this could be her last chance at a championship, Mickie James left it all in the ring against The Empress of Tomorrow. But although Mickie James was ready for Asuka, Asuka was also ready for her. The Raw Women's Champion locked on the Asuka Lock, and despite James' best efforts to fight out, the referee ruled her unable to continue and awarded the match to Asuka."
However, Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Radio claims that it was a botch from the referee. He adds that Mickie James is okay and she had nothing to do with the match ending abruptly.
Sasha Banks to return on WWE SmackDown this week
Bayley finally turned on Sasha Banks two weeks ago, and it is expected that the two will be facing each other very soon. It was expected that the two would face each other at Clash of Champions, but WWE have confirmed that Nikki Cross will challenge Bayley for the title at the PPV this month.
WWE announced the return of Banks, who is set to return earlier than expected. It was widely speculated that Banks would return at or after Clash of Champions.
WWE released a statement on Sasha Banks after she was attacked.
"The Boss seemingly sustained a knee injury after crashing into the ring post during the WWE Women's Tag Team Title Match, then being on the receiving end of Shayna Baszler's relentless offense. But the worst was yet to come for Banks. After she refused medical attention, Banks was brutally attacked by her partner and best friend, Bayley, who culminating the assault by wrapping a steel chair around Banks' neck and jumping off the second rope to stomp on it. Banks was taken from the WWE ThunderDome in an ambulance. WWE.com can confirm that Banks was taken to a local medical facility and is being evaluated."
Banks is now expected to provide an update on the same and could feature on SmackDown via satellite and not in person.
