WWE Rumors on Drew McIntyre's Contract, Ronda Rousey and WrestleMania in London

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE.

Drew McIntyre Still Has No New Contract Despite Return

Drew McIntyre made his return in a big way at last weekend's Money in the Bank live event, attacking GUNTHER and setting himself up as a potential opponent for SummerSlam for the intercontinental championship.

That said, McIntyre's long-term future remains up in the air.

PW Insider reported McIntyre and WWE are yet to agree on a new contract. The former WWE champion's deal is set to expire in early 2024, and the two sides have not come close to an agreement.

WWE and McIntyre had been rumored to have a disagreement on how to handle his character, though Triple H tried to debunk that speculation Saturday at his post-MITB press conference.

"It's also a funny thing, the amount of speculation that happens around things I read stuff all the time that's printed and put out there. 'Sources say.' 75% of it is completely off base. If Drew had an issue, it's news to me," Triple H told reporters. "He was out with an injury and getting stuff fixed. While he was out, he had something else to get fixed so we did it, and here he is. He's an amazing performer. He is one of the highlight superstars in this era. Thrilled to have him back and hopefully, he's here for the rest of his career."

While Triple H would undoubtedly prefer to have McIntyre in WWE for the long term, all negotiations will be interesting to watch after Endeavor's purchase of the company. The sale is yet to fully take form, and it's possible contracts will be cut or negotiations will be more difficult to complete in the coming months.

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Ronda Rousey Has 'Hard Out' Date in Contract

Ronda Rousey's second run in WWE is reportedly nearing an end.

Shayna Baszler turned on her partner over the weekend at MITB, handing the tag team championships to Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio said that has always been the long-term plan, but Rousey's "hard out" in her contract created urgency in the storyline.

"This was always, always, always the plan," Meltzer said. "It kept getting delayed and then Ronda got hurt and the thing was - and I don't know the date, and it might be SummerSlam, it might be a little bit after - the deal is that Ronda has a hard out. She gave a date, 'This is my last date.' Cause I remember talking to somebody there and it's like, 'I know they're going to do this, and I guess, make the big match for WrestleMania.' And it's like, 'No, her hard out is...' — they didn't give me the date but it's long before WrestleMania.

"They want to do a feud. The whole tag team was to set up Ronda and Shayna doing a feud. Ronda wanted to do this feud with Shayna, she got what she wanted. She's always wanted to do it because Shayna is the one who got her basically into pro wrestling."

Rousey made her initial WWE debut in 2018 and stayed with the company for one year before departing in 2019. She returned after a nearly three-year hiatus in 2022, winning the Royal Rumble and then defeating Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 38.

While she's had two singles championship reigns in her return, fans have largely given Rousey a tepid response. Her matches have lacked urgency, and she's not been as eager about getting better on a night-to-night basis as she was during her first run.

The name recognition value Rousey has is undeniable, but she's somewhere in the middle of the pack among WWE women in terms of in-ring performance and among the worst on the roster on the mic.

If these coming weeks are the end for her tenure in the company, it'll undoubtedly be remembered as a mixed bag.

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WrestleMania Not Coming to London Anytime Soon

It turns out John Cena's teasing of a WrestleMania in London may have been for nothing.

Fightful Select reported there are currently no plans for WrestleMania to take place in the United Kingdom. WrestleMania 40 is currently slated for Philadelphia, and Fightful reported WWE is close to finalizing a venue in the United States for WrestleMania 41.

A source close to the situation told Fightful they do not believe a London WrestleMania is "on the horizon." The absolute earliest one could take place is 2026 at this rate.

Cena made a surprise appearance at MITB and teased a London WrestleMania, which drew raucous cheers from the O2 Arena crowd. He was then greeted by Grayson Waller, who ran down England and said WWE should take WrestleMania to his home country in Australia.

The segment ended with Waller eating an Attitude Adjustment.

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