WWE News & Rumor Roundup: Former world champion is legitimately injured; backstage frustration; star apologizes to Randy OrtonĀ
Welcome to the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's WWE Roundup. Here, we bring you the biggest and latest stories from the world of wrestling.
Today's edition features some huge updates, including what happened on NXT. Randy Orton was involved in a scary incident, while a shocking title change took place. Meanwhile, we have a couple of exclusives about WWE's plans for WrestleMania 41 and the latest on AJ Styles.
So, without further ado, let's get to today's stories.
#1. WWE NXT Results
NXT last night was absolutely stacked. Taking place in St. Louis, the show featured a lot of huge developments. Here is a rundown of what happened:
- Wes Lee confronted the new NXT Champion Trick Williams. He was interrupted by Jey Uso, who had a celebration in the ring with Williams.
- Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Kelani Jordan defeated Fatal Influence in a six-woman tag team match.
- Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer interrupted Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade's promo. The newcomers cleared the ring before holding up the NXT Women's Championship.
- Tony D'Angelo defeated Oba Femi to win the NXT North American Championship.
- Nathan Frazer and Axiom defeated A-Town Down Under to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship.
- A Sexyy Red concert got canceled after she was interrupted by Ethan Page. He cut a promo in the ring before Je'Von Evans attacked him.
- Randy Orton defeated Je'Von Evans in the main event.
After their match, Evans apologized to Orton due to a botched RKO spot towards the end. The Viper quickly reassured the young star it was okay with a wholesome gesture.
#2. Backstage frustration at WWE RAW
WWE RAW's move to two hours hasn't been the smoothest so far. One of the prevailing issues is the lack of time for some of the matches. The 10-woman Tag Team bout from Monday was one such example, as it lasted only seven minutes and lost TV time due to commercials.
Lyra Valkyria, Natalya, Zelina Vega, and The Party Girls defeated The Unholy Union and Pure Fusion Collective. According to Fightful Select, there was some internal frustration regarding the match backstage at WWE RAW. A few participants had issues with its booking, causing some backstage heat.
#3. Unfortunate news on AJ Styles
AJ Styles returned to WWE on SmackDown last week, where he seemingly injured his ankle. The damage was so severe that his match against Carmelo Hayes had to be stopped. While initially suspected to be purely storyline, it looks like The Phenomenal One is legitimately injured.
Speaking on the Q&A on Backstage Pass alongside Bill Apter and Joe Lowry, WrestleVotes said that he heard on Friday that Styles is actually hurt:
"You know I heard right away on Friday that it was legit and I haven't heard anything else since, so it makes me believe that it is. As unfortunate as it is, I think it'll make the eventual comeback even stronger."
It remains to be seen how serious this injury is. For now, all we can do is wish AJ Styles a speedy recovery.
#4. WWE's plans for the WrestleMania 41 main event
The same Q&A on Backstage Pass also featured some talk on the potential main event of WrestleMania 41. The Rock's WWE return at Bad Blood seemingly foreshadowed a triple threat between him, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns at The Show of Shows.
According to WrestleVotes, that is the direction WWE might be taking for next year's WrestleMania. While it isn't finalized, he explained why it makes the most sense for all three to face each other:
"My thought is that it signifies that's where we're going for WrestleMania - 1, 2, 3 as in Triple Threat Match. I can tell you that's on the table but I'm not sure if it's finalized in any way. It's October, so I doubt it's been finalized but the idea is being floated and I think it makes sense for the company as a whole just to get those three guys in one ring at one time and push the story to the moon."
It will be interesting to see how the story progresses from here. Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns both have an interesting few months ahead, thanks to The Rock lurking around.
Don't forget to check out Backstage Pass for more incredible exclusive content!