WWE Rumor Roundup - Details of female stars refusing to attend backstage meetings, WrestleMania Backlash plan for Roman Reigns and more
Welcome to the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's daily WWE Rumor Roundup. As always, we've gathered all the top rumors currently being discussed in and around WWE.
We began today's roundup with a controversial story regarding female stars rejecting backstage NXT 'fashion meetings', and the explosive details have attracted a lot of attention in wrestling circles.
We also have an update regarding WWE's WrestleMania Backlash plan for Roman Reigns. The WWE Rumor Roundup is capped off with a clarification on Bret Hart's new deal and whether or not he can still appear for AEW.
On that note, let's dive into today's top rumors.
#1. Backstage reaction to NXT stars being told to attend 'fashion meetings'
Re: the Ember Moon/Athena interview. WWE brought in consultant Melanie Pace to speak at the “fashion meeting” last October. https://t.co/itFV7WMUMH
Athena (fka Ember Moon) recently turned heads by revealing startling information about WWE organizing meetings to encourage female talent to look "sexier."
Sean Ross Sapp dropped a detailed Fightful Select report on what actually went down behind the scenes regarding the meetings, which were put together under the guise of fashion consulting and fashion aid.
The company reportedly roped in fashion expert Melanie Pace, who was tasked with conducting the meetings back in October 2021 to "play up the fact" that the women were larger-than-life personalities.
Before the changes, a wrestler from NXT told Fightful that WWE had previously instructed the talents to wear their in-ring gear or merchandise shirts.
Numerous roster members were unhappy with the meetings and allegedly blamed John Laurinaitis for the unwelcomed suggestions regarding their attire. While there was no confirmation on whether Laurinaitis had a role in arranging the meetings, they did start taking place after he recently reclaimed power.
Another unnamed wrestler revealed that while WWE did not specifically tell its talent to "dress sexier," the message was implied by officials during the backstage gatherings.
The report added that many female stars did not wish to attend these meetings and considered it one of the most significant changes since Triple H lost control of NXT. This is still a developing story as many superstars have been reacting to the rumors on social media.
#2. The reported WrestleMania Backlash plan for Roman Reigns
As disclosed earlier in the SmackDown spoilers for this week's show, Drew McIntyre was unveiled as Roman Reigns' next title challenger.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that the current plan could be for Roman Reigns to main-event WrestleMania Backlash against the Scottish Warrior.
The upcoming premium live event has a massive title unification match featuring the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Champions. Yet the promotion reportedly wants the Tribal Chief to headline the show with McIntyre. Here's what was revealed in the newsletter:
"The 4/29 Smackdown show ends with Roman Reigns coming to blows with Drew McIntyre, which has looked to have been the logical main event for the show," stated Meltzer. "We don't have it confirmed that is the main event, but had been told Reigns was as of a week ago scheduled to headline, and this was the apparent angle for that."
Roman Reigns' storyline with Drew McIntyre will commence on the next episode of SmackDown. It remains to be seen how the writers will shape this rivalry heading into WrestleMania Backlash.
#3. Update on Bret Hart's WWE deal
There has been much talk about Bret Hart's status as people in AEW reportedly believed the legend had "quietly signed" with WWE.
In this week's WON, Dave Meltzer noted that Bret Hart had merely signed a merchandising deal with Vince McMahon's company.
Meltzer was still unsure whether The Hitman could legally appear for AEW but added that Tony Khan's team had not asked Bret about participating in the Owen Hart Tournament finals presentation.
"Bret Hart said that his only deal with WWE is a merchandising deal and not any other deal," revealed Meltzer.
While the merchandising deal could potentially allow Hart to do business with AEW, it's still uncertain if it could become a reality from a legal standpoint. The Hall of Famer showed up on AEW TV just once back at Double or Nothing 2019, where he introduced the company's world title belt.
Could Bret Hart find a way to work with AEW soon? Let us know what you think in the comments section.