Backstage WWE and AEW Rumors: Latest on Low Morale, LWO and More

The landscape of WWE changed Monday night on Raw with the apparent return to power of Vince McMahon.

His meddling in the night's booking and the uncertainty surrounding just who is in charge of WWE Creative has lowered morale in a locker room that should have been riding high following one of the better WrestleManias in modern history.

That story headlines this week's collection of wrestling rumors, which also includes the latest on plans for the reintroduced LWO and Miro's status with All Elite Wrestling.

Low Locker Room Morale on Monday Night

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that morale behind the scenes in WWE took a "huge hit" Monday night with the return of Vince McMahon to power.

"After months of being assured that Vince McMahon was not involved in creative, several WWE talent were frustrated when the day of an announced WWE deal, a bunch of Vince McMahon-esque changes were made," Sapp said.

He continued, "He was also in gorilla position all night after WWE had told numerous sources that Triple H was to be leading the charge in that position. There were changes made well into the show and new run sheets being passed along. McMahon also had his own office all weekend."

This, despite McMahon claiming he would not "be in the weeds" creatively during an interview with CNBC and management telling talent that Paul "Triple H" Levesque would remain in his role as chief content officer.

Scheduled matches were changed at the last minute, segments were cut as the show was ongoing and the mood was generally down. So much so that it led "at least two talents, including one near the top of the card," to claim they will ask for their releases if the trend continues.

None of this should be terribly surprising to anyone.

Morale was at an all-time low in early 2022 with McMahon at the helm, thanks to some of the same things. The arrival of The Game in July upon McMahon's retirement brought renewed energy and hope, culminating in one of the best WrestleManias ever produced by WWE.

McMahon forcing his way back into the company in January did feel ominous, despite reports that he was only there to facilitate a sale, and the events of Monday have completely demoralized talent who had been successful, as the company had, under the creative guidance of Triple H.

WrestleMania 39, an event booked and planned by Levesque, became the most successful ever, according to the official WWE website.

Only ego could lead a man to sabotage something he claims to love by usurping power from the man who has overseen so many successful events over the last eight months.

Who knows what the future holds, but if the reports are accurate, and Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com and Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio have both confirmed they are, there is a strong likelihood that morale will only dip further and lead to wrestlers reconsidering whether they wish to work in those conditions.

AEW and other promotions, such as Impact Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the independents will become much more attractive to free agents. Those with contracts expiring, such as Drew McIntyre, will likely weigh options a bit more than they would with Triple H in control of the day-to-day show operations.

Perhaps McMahon's presence in the capacity that he was in Monday was a flex, a twisted celebration following the successful sale of a company he built up.

We will know come Friday's SmackDown if McMahon figures to appear backstage at all shows and have the level of impact he had Monday. If so, the landscape of wrestling will likely change.

Latest Update on LWO Involvement in Bad Bunny Storyline

One such change to Monday's show was the absence of the LWO (Latino World Order) in the segment involving Rey and Dominik Mysterio, Damian Priest and Bad Bunny.

The stable was slated to integrated in some manner, according to Sapp, but that did not happen as booked.

Rey reintroduced the group, comprising of himself and Legado del Fantasma's Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde and Zelina Vega, on the SmackDown prior to WrestleMania. They also had a presence in the WWE Hall of Famer's victory over Dominik at The Show of Shows on Saturday and appeared poised to go on the biggest run of their main roster careers.

Their absence Monday, when Rey and even Bad Bunny could have used them, essentially undoes everything Triple H laid the groundwork for in the days leading up to the event.

Now, at least from a creative perspective, they look like ungrateful friends for not helping the icon who entrusted them with reforming the LWO.

Of course, given all the creative changes at Raw and the guy reportedly at the heart of them, it is not surprising that an act Triple H had put trust in was inexplicably dropped.

That there have been Puerto Rico-themed LWO shirts made in anticipation of the group's presence at Backlash on May 6 creates a little hope that Escobar and Co. will make their presence felt at the pay-per-view.

Miro Set to Return AEW Shortly?

Miro has not appeared on AEW television since All Out on September 4 last year.

Despite being ready to return at any point, there were no discussions of creative between him and company officials. That may be changing for the better, though.

Sapp reported that Miro was backstage at Ring of Honor's Supercard of Honor event the Friday before WrestleMania, despite never being planned to compete at the event. This has sparked speculation that he could be on his way back to AEW.

The company's inability to devise creative ways to utilize the 37-year-old, whether through a lack of ideas or the product of a backstage beef following tweets last year, is one of its more significant flubs.

At one point, Miro was as over as anyone on the roster and doing some of the best in-ring work of his career. He was in shape, motivated and ready to dominate, but he was utilized inconsistently (if at all) and the result was public frustration bubbling over.

There is certainly a place in AEW for a talent of the Bulgaria-born star's ability. He is an explosive big man who can be the serious ass-kicker or the comedic, lovable babyface. He is multi-talented and can benefit the promotion and its show via the quality of his performance.

That should be taken into consideration as AEW prepares for a major event at Wembley Stadium in London, All In on August 27, when it will need as many stars and recognizable faces as possible to help fill the huge venue.