WWE News Roundup: Major star ruled out of action, RAW Superstar announces retirement from amateur wrestling, Alexa Bliss sends bold message to fans
Welcome to the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's daily WWE News Roundup, where we take a look at the top news stories over the last 24 hours.
WrestleMania 38 is almost here and the company is trying to hype up the matches for the show. However, a championship contender has been ruled out of action due to an injury. Elsewhere, a Hall of Famer made a special appearance and got into an argument with The Miz at a WWE Live Event on the Road to WrestleMania.
Plus, Alexa Bliss took to Twitter to send an important message to her fans during her absence from WWE TV. Also, Friday Night SmackDown's viewership took a hit, even after an entertaining opening segment between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
Without any further ado, let's dive deep into today's news roundup. Be sure to comment down and share your thoughts and reactions.
#5 Bianca Belair ruled out of action indefinitely ahead of WrestleMania 38
NOT GOOD! NOT GOOD!
@BeckyLynchWWE @BiancaBelairWWE #WWERaw https://t.co/aFtTfA43jT
WWE has confirmed that Bianca Belair will be out of action indefinitely due to after the brutal attack on her by RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch:
"Bianca Belair suffered a fractured hyoid bone in her throat as a result of the attack perpetrated by Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch last Monday on Raw. Although Belair will not need surgery, she will be out of action for an unspecified amount of time as she recovers."
The attack took place on last week's episode of Monday Night RAW after Belair's match against Doudrop. Lynch assaulted The EST of WWE and used the latter's own braid against her. Big Time Becks went on to slam Belair into the ring post with a steel chair around her neck.
Last month, Belair won the Women's Elimination Chamber match to earn the right to challenge RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 38. Fans will have to wait and see how this injury angle unfolds from here on out.
#4 Gable Steveson announces retirement from amateur wrestling
Olympic gold medalist and Monday Night RAW Superstar Gable Steveson has announced his retirement from amateur wrestling. After he won his second consecutive NCAA Heavyweight Championship, he then took his shoes off and left them in the middle of the mat. Steveson then announced his retirement during a post-match interview with ESPN:
"I'm done," he said in a post-match ESPN interview. "I did what I came to do. I was going to win the Olympic gold and win the national tournament again."
Steveson signed with WWE last year, and he was later drafted to Monday Night RAW. He is yet to officially make his debut for the company, but his amateur wrestling retirement surely means that his debut will happen at some point soon. Recent reports have suggested that Vince McMahon has huge plans for Steveson and the company even considers him to be the next Brock Lesnar.
#3 Jeff Jarrett made a special appearance at a WWE Live Event
.@mikethemiz & @RealJeffJarrett got into it on a special edition of #MizTV, but @DomMysterio35 came out on the Hall of Famer's behalf and wanted to settle the score! #WWESpringfield https://t.co/xIBHN7haAX
WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett made a special appearance at a recent Live Event in Springfield. The Miz hosted a special edition of his popular talk show Miz TV and welcomed Jarrett as his guest, much to the surprise of the fans in attendance. The two then got into a heated argument before Dominik Mysterio made his way out to the ring and challenged The Miz for a match.
Jarrett previously made an appearance on the January 21 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, where he was featured in a backstage segment with Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs. These little surprises are what make WWE's live events so much fun to watch and attend!
#2 SmackDown viewership decreass even after entertaining Roman Reigns-Brock Lesnar segment
Brock Lesnar with a forklift smiling and all lol #SmackDown https://t.co/lPgu6DBLUE
It's fair to argue that Friday Night SmackDown continues to be the best weekly show on WWE television. However, the blue brand suffered a decline in viewership this week, even after an entertaining opening segment.
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar memorably destroyed Universal Champion Roman Reigns' vehicle using a forklift. Still, this week's SmackDown averaged 2.0425 million viewers, which is down from last week's 2.133 million viewers.
Reigns and Lesnar are scheduled to face each other in a massive "Championship Unification Match" on WrestleMania Sunday. Fans are excited to see who walks out as the winner and moreover, what the company will do with the world title after the bout.
#1 Alexa Bliss sends a message to her fans
Former RAW and SmackDown Women's Champion Alexa Bliss took to Twitter to send a message to her fans. She asked them to beware of catfishers who are pretending to be her on social media.
"On Twitter & I really hate that this needs to be said AGAIN - NO, you are not talking to me on any other social outlet, NO- you do not get DMs from a 'personal acct' from me, NO - we are NOT dating, NO- I am not asking for $$ - & death threats 2 me & my fiancé are NOT OK," wrote Bliss.
Bliss has been away from WWE television for a while now, despite her return at WWE Elimination Chamber. At this point, there don't seem to be any plans for her heading into WrestleMania 38, much to the surprise and disappointment of the fans. Unless WWE puts together something at the last minute, the popular star might miss the Show of Shows this year.