The Rock Talks WWE on Fallon; MVP Reveals Why He Left WWE; Rumor on Women's IC Title
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
The Rock Discusses WrestleMania 40, Spot on TKO Board
During an appearance Monday on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson addressed several topics, including his return to WWE during the build toward WrestleMania 40.
While speaking to Fallon (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), the discussion shifted to WWE, and The Rock noted that he immensely enjoyed teaming with Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 40, saying: "I had such a great time. Cody and Seth and Roman, it was just wild. I grew up in that world of pro wrestling. There's nothing like when that music hits and the crowd goes crazy."
The Rock also expressed his belief that his life has come full circle since he grew up in a wrestling family, became a top star in wrestling, parlayed that success into a massive acting career and is now back in WWE in an executive capacity:
"That's a good way to put it. I grew up in the world of pro wrestling, and I followed the careers of my grandfather and my dad. My grandfather and my dad used to wrestle up here at [Madison Square Garden] in the '70s, and here I come along, not trying to screw anything up with their legacy. Then all of a sudden, the business has grown into what it's grown into. TKO now owns WWE, and I have the honor of sitting on the board of TKO. What a full-circle moment."
After several years away, The Rock returned in the months prior to WrestleMania 40 earlier this year, and while it initially seemed he was going to challenge Reigns for the WWE Championship, he ended up teaming up with him against Rhodes and Rollins instead.
The Rock turned heel for the first time in decades, referring to himself as The Final Boss, and it led to some of the best and most compelling WWE programming in recent memory.
After Rhodes beat Reigns for the WWE title in the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 40, The Rock confronted Rhodes and suggested they would face each other at some point down the line.
Reigns and Rhodes reluctantly teamed up last month at Bad Blood to beat Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, and The Rock made a surprise return afterward, but he didn't make the reason for his presence known.
There has been follow-up on why The Rock was at Bad Blood yet, but his appearance suggests there are big plans involving him, Reigns and Rhodes in the future.
MVP Talks Reasons for Leaving WWE for AEW
MVP recently arrived in AEW, and he has since reformed the Hurt Business with Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley, rechristening it the Hurt Syndicate.
In an interview with Drop The Heat (h/t WrestlePurists) this week, MVP gave some insight into why he decided to leave WWE and sign with AEW, saying:
"I didn't want to re-sign and I let it be known that I wasn't going to re-sign because of the new management in place. Any time, I don't care where you work, when new management comes in, it's good for some people and not for other people. New people come in, old people go.
"So I just felt that it was definitely time to go because the new management just wasn't for me and I ain't for him."
MVP was likely alluding to the fact that longtime WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon stepped down from his positions in July 2022 amid an investigation into hush money he paid to multiple women regarding sexual relationships they had with him.
That led to Triple H taking over as head of creative, and although McMahon returned to WWE as chairman in January 2023 to facilitate the sale of the company to Endeavor, he resigned in January 2024 after former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against him in which she alleged that he sexually assaulted and trafficked her.
With McMahon seemingly out of WWE for good, Triple H and president Nick Khan are lined up to be the power players and lead decision-makers for years to come.
The Hurt Business came into existence under McMahon's leadership, and the group was a dominant force during the COVID-19 pandemic with Lashley twice winning the WWE Championship.
The stable broke up shortly after the pandemic ended, though, and while there were teases of a reunion at times, it never came to fruition.
Benjamin was released from WWE last year, and both MVP and Lashley saw their WWE contracts expire in recent months, paving the way for them to reunite in AEW.
Lashley made his AEW debut on Oct. 30 and is already lined up to face former AEW world champion Swerve Strickland at Full Gear, which suggests the Hurt Syndicate could quickly rise to the top of AEW.
Rumors on Women's IC Title After Women's U.S. Title Reveal
WWE made a historic announcement on last week's episode of SmackDown, as SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis revealed the brand-new WWE Women's United States Championship.
That immediately led to speculation of a Women's Intercontinental Championship being created as well, but the status of that potential title remains unclear.
Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) reported that female Superstars on the Raw roster had not been informed of a new title prior to the start of Monday night's episode of Raw.
There was no mention of a women's IC title on the show either, which suggests WWE is either waiting to unveil it or has no plans on making such a title.
The announcement of the women's U.S. title was a landmark moment for WWE since there had never before been a women's midcard title on the main roster.
WWE did create the Women's North American Championship in NXT earlier this year, and it has been a huge success thus far, as Kelani Jordan had an excellent reign before dropping it to Fallon Henley.
Now, main roster women's Superstars will have gold to fight for even if they aren't in the WWE Women's Championship or Women's Tag Team Championship picture.
As of now, it appears that it will be exclusive to SmackDown, although it is possible WWE could have the women's United States champion appear on both brands if there are no plans for a women's IC title.
At the same time, it may be wise for WWE to wait on creating a second women's midcard title since it could feel like overkill to have Superstars vying for new championships at the same time on separate shows.
Whatever the case, some huge opportunities are on the horizon for the stars of the WWE women's division, and another step is being made to put it on the same level as the men's division in terms of exposure and prestige.
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