WWE Rumors on Charlotte Flair, Stars Requesting Release and Vince McMahon Backstage
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Charlotte Reportedly Taking Break from WWE
After dropping the SmackDown Women's Championship to Rhea Ripley on Night 1 of WrestleMania 39, Charlotte Flair is reportedly taking some time off from WWE.
According to PWInsider Elite (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Flair is taking a break, and it isn't known when she will return to WWE programming.
After dropping the SmackDown women's title to Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania Backlash in May 2022, Charlotte was away from WWE for nearly eight months. She made her return on the Dec. 30 episode of SmackDown.
The Queen's arrival was a surprise, and she challenged Rousey to a title match on the spot, beating Ronda for the SmackDown Women's Championship.
Ripley would win the women's Royal Rumble match about one month later, and she challenged Flair to a WrestleMania match in an effort to get revenge for losing to Charlotte at WrestleMania 36.
Flair and Ripley had one of the best matches on either night of WrestleMania 39, as it was a physical and hard-hitting affair with no shortage of drama and near-falls.
Ripley became SmackDown women's champion for the first time, and she is now the first Superstar in WWE history to have held the Raw, SmackDown, NXT and NXT UK women's titles, plus the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.
Charlotte has already long established herself as one of the greatest women's wrestlers of all time, meaning she has little left to prove or accomplish in WWE.
She hasn't shown any signs of wanting to retire or go elsewhere, however, which suggests her absence will only be temporary.
Flair taking some time off will allow Ripley and other members of the women's division to shine, and when she decides to return, she figures to be in the thick of things once again.
Top Star Reportedly Prepared to Request Release After Vince's Return
Amid rumors that Vince McMahon took on a greater creative role during Monday night's episode of Raw, multiple WWE Superstars reportedly expressed their desire to go elsewhere if the trend continues.
According to Fightful Select (h/t Upton), two WWE talents, "including one near the top of the card" said they would "likely" ask for their WWE release if McMahon heads creative moving forward.
Another WWE Superstar reportedly told Fightful they would ride out their current contract before presumably going elsewhere.
After a highly successful WrestleMania 39 over the weekend, WWE announced Monday that it had sold 51 percent of its controlling interest to Endeavor Group Holdings, which also owns UFC.
Under the arrangement, WWE and UFC will essentially merge into one company. McMahon was named executive chairman of the entire operation, essentially making him the second in command to Ari Emanuel.
Triple H remains head of creative in name, but Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that McMahon was "firmly" in charge of creative Monday, rewriting the script before and during the show.
Also, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio said (h/t Trevor Dame) reported that McMahon was "back in charge," while Triple H was relegated to "busy work."
Triple H took over as head of creative during McMahon's brief retirement last summer, and the overwhelming sentiment was that the product was far better under Triple H's guidance.
If McMahon is back steering the creative ship on a permanent basis, it reportedly may lead to some significant upheaval within WWE's roster of Superstars.
Vince's Reported Influence over Raw After Endeavor Sale
McMahon reportedly had a major hand in the booking of Monday night's episode of Raw, which didn't necessarily sit well with some of the wrestlers present for the show.
According to Fightful Select (h/t Upton), multiple Superstars were "disappointed" with the way McMahon "wedged" his way back into creative after previously being told that Triple H would still be running things.
Fightful (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) also reported that multiple female members of the roster were "very disappointed" by the rewrites McMahon reportedly executed.
Originally, there was reportedly supposed to be a pair of Triple Threat matches to help determine the next challenger for Bianca Belair's Raw Women's Championship.
Instead, those matches were scrapped, and a tag team match was held between the teams of Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, and Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky. Morgan and Rodriguez won to earn a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match against Becky Lynch and Lita next week.
The biggest happening on Monday's Raw was Brock Lesnar agreeing to team with Cody Rhodes against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa before ultimately turning on Cody and brutally attacking him in the main event segment.
Per Fightful (h/t Upton), McMahon made the decision to go with the Rhodes and Lesnar interactions Monday morning.
Rhodes losing to Reigns at WrestleMania was a shocking development to many, and it now seems as though Cody will have to battle adversity before getting back to Reigns.
A rivalry with Lesnar appears to be in store, which could ultimately be a good thing for Rhodes' status as a sympathetic babyface, provided he manages to come out on top.
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