Backstage WWE and AEW Rumors: Latest on Jey Uso vs. Gunther, Jordynne Grace, and More

Jey Uso will challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 41 in the first officially announced match for this year's event, but how long has that match been in WWE’s creative plans? 

That topic headlines this collection of insider reports that also looks at the timing of Jordynne Grace’s impending NXT debut, Chad Gable traveling south of the border, and what preceded Miro’s departure from All Elite Wrestling.

How Long Has Jey Uso vs. Gunther Been in the Works?

Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that Jey Uso’s Royal Rumble victory was planned “for quite some time” and that Gunther was the WrestleMania opponent even before they clashed at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

That suggests the loss to The Ring General prior to the Rumble was designed to be a plot device. The story has long been that Gunther believes Uso is a caricature who does not belong in the same ring as him.

Though the champion has beaten him each time they have clashed, Uso has gotten closer and closer to a win, inspiring confidence in himself.

The disrespect shown to Uso by Gunther only made it clearer that it is the Austrian who the Royal Rumble winner must challenge on wrestling’s grandest stage.

The report confirms WWE has had long-term plans in place for WrestleMania, even when rumors persisted that a given Superstar may go in a different direction in time for the year’s biggest event.

It should be interesting to see what other matches were long in the making and manifest themselves on the road to WrestleMania in Las Vegas on April 19-20.

Update on Jordynne Grace's Next WWE Appearance

Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images

Jordynne Grace made her first appearance as an official WWE Superstar in the women's Royal Rumble match, where she entered at No. 19 and lasted over 22 minutes before being eliminated by NXT women’s champion Giulia.

She has yet to pop back up on WWE television, but a report suggests that may change soon.

Sapp reported that Grace was in Orlando, Florida this week for NXT and available, but she was not used.

If so, it would appear the former TNA Knockouts champion is poised to make her debut with the brand at any time, presumably after Saturday’s Vengeance Day premium live event.

At that show, Giulia will defend her NXT women's title against Bayley, Roxanne Perez, and Cora Jade in a Fatal 4-Way match. 

Could a date with The Beautiful Madness be up first for Grace, putting her in a premier position early in her NXT run? Maybe, and if so, it would set up a match of significant magnitude at Stand and Deliver, the biggest card of the year for the brand.

Whether she wins the gold or not on her first try remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: Based on her appearances in WWE to this point, she has strong support in key positions.

However, Grace has put in the work to become one of the best wrestlers in the business and should find considerable success in WWE.

Latest on Miro's Exit from AEW

AEW

Miro wrestled his last match with AEW in 2023, and there was no expectation that he would ever suit up for the company again, according to Sapp.

He wrote: “He's healthy and has been cleared for quite some time, but Fightful reported that he'd asked for his release quite a while back. We're told the situation had gone radio silent for quite some time before the release was official.

“Miro had not been brought up creatively from what we've heard in about six months, and most everyone we spoke to in AEW had not expected to see him again.”

Miro captured the TNT Championship and battled the likes of Best Friends, Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin and Powerhouse Hobbs, among others during his time with the promotion.

However, creative frustration and injuries kept him from building momentum and the fact that he requested his release did not help matters. The question now is what’s next for The Redeemer?

Does he return to WWE and chase the main event run that eluded him during his first stint with the company? Does he head to TNA Wrestling to help bolster its roster? Maybe he becomes the latest in a long history of monster Americans to roll through New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Whatever the case, he has plenty of potential to enjoy a significant run somewhere.

Chad Gable to Mexico?

WWE/Getty Images

Chad Gable struggled mightily with luchadors the last time WWE fans saw him, with losses to Rey Mysterio and Penta forcing him to seek education on how to best the masked competitors, by way of a name given to him by Dominik Mysterio.

In his pursuit of conquering the “dark arts of lucha libre,” Gable might even make appearances in Mexico’s AAA, competing for the promotion, as Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Live.

If that happens, it would be yet another example of WWE’s increased willingness to work with other promotions under Triple H. We have seen it with the TNA partnership, which has allowed that company’s talent to appear in NXT and vice versa. 

We also saw it with Pro Wrestling Noah, where Josh Briggs had an impressive stint.

Sending Gable to AAA allows him to be a big guest star for that promotion while allowing him to work the lucha libre style ahead of what is likely to be the continuation of his feud with LWO and Penta. 

If all goes well, it opens up opportunities for other Superstars to go elsewhere and learn, develop and evolve their styles before coming back refreshed.