Backstage WWE and AEW Rumors: Latest on WrestleMania, Rhea Ripley, and More

On the heels of Elimination Chamber, WWE is full-speed on the road to WrestleMania 41 and that means the wrestling rumor mill is working overtime.

Insiders have the latest on The Showcase of the Immortals, including what one of the biggest stars in the company will be doing on the April 19-20 card at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Dive deeper into that and more with this collection of backstage reports.

Twists and Turns on Road to WrestleMania 41

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Wrestling Observer Live's Bryan Alvarez reported there are still twists and turns coming to several of the top WrestleMania 41 matches and that, if you think you know where things are heading coming out of Elimination Chamber, you should prepare yourself for changes.

Storyline twists and turns have dominated this road to WrestleMania, with no clear indication of what is to come for several top Superstars, so it's not surprising that fans may be in store for more.

Whether that means the Undisputed WWE Championship match between John Cena and Cody Rhodes will be altered in some form or fashion, or other matches hinted at by Chamber outcomes will not be as expected, remains to be seen.

There are clearly moving pieces that are at least somewhat influencing what WWE, Triple H and his creative team have planned.

Still, the last two WrestleManias under (mostly) Triple H's creative guidance have been all-timers, so there is good reason to be optimistic that he will put in place the best card he can for next month.

Rhea Ripley's WrestleMania Plans

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Rhea Ripley lost the Women's World Championship to Iyo Sky Monday night on Raw, leaving a question mark over her role on the WrestleMania 41 card.

WrestleVotes reported on the Backstage Pass Q&A with Bill Apter that the Australian is expected to be added to the title match involving Sky and Bianca Belair, making it a Triple Threat.

Considering how Monday's contest ended, with Ripley allowing herself to become distracted by The EST of WWE, that makes sense.

Mami, Belair and The Genius of the Sky have been intertwined for the last two months or so in backstage interactions and confrontations, so it appears Triple H and the creative team have known that was the direction they wanted to head for some time.

After a longtime feud that saw many fans become somewhat disenfranchised by Ripley and Liv Morgan fighting over Dominik Mysterio instead of having a feud that was more title-centric, they will be happy to see three of the top women's wrestlers gearing up for a match of that magnitude on the grand stage, where the only apple of their eye is championship gold.

Latest on Cora Jade After NXT Injury

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Tuesday night on NXT, Cora Jade suffered an injury that forced her match with Jordynne Grace to be cut short.

The 24-year-old took to X after the show to update fans:

Alvarez noted on Wrestling Observer Live that Jade is currently in concussion protocol.

It is a disappointing setback for Jade, who has spent the early portion of 2025 building momentum for herself after her comeback late last year.

She has been a significant part of the WWE-TNA crossover and is scheduled to challenge Knockouts champion Masha Slamovich as part of TNA's Sacrifice event on March 14.

Jade has also been a factor in the women's division in NXT, routinely competing against the likes of Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Bayley, Roxanne Perez and Grace.

It is not known for how long she will be out, if at all.

Update on Jamie Hayter's AEW Status

All Elite Wrestling

Former AEW women's champion Jamie Hayter has not appeared on television since her January 22 victory over Julia Hart, leaving some to wonder where she is and what her status with the promotion is.

Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp reported the English fighter "is in the process of getting her visa renewed and is back in the UK. This is also why she's been taking UK bookings of late."

Prior to an injury that kept Hayter out of the squared circle for over a year, she was arguably the most over member of the women's division and one of its best wrestlers.

The 29-year-old had momentum on her side and looked to be All Elite Wrestling's next breakout star following her AEW Women's World Championship victory.

Things have not gone as many expected since she returned, though, with inconsistent appearances, a secondary feud with Julia Hart and little to no talk of her regaining the title.

Hopefully, once the visa issue is settled, she can get back to rebuilding that momentum and being a factor in a women's division that has steadily rebuilt itself into one of the premier elements of AEW television, thanks to the hard work of names such as "Timeless" Toni Storm, Mariah May, Mercedes Moné and Harley Cameron.