WWE Rumors on Rock at WrestleMania, Charlotte-Tiffany Promo; Saraya Talks Future Plans

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

The Rock Reportedly Still Uncertain for WrestleMania

The Rock has not been seen on WWE programming since Elimination Chamber last month, and there are reportedly no concrete updates on his status for WrestleMania 41.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) said this week that there is "still nothing" in terms of information on plans for The Final Boss.

In the weeks prior to Elimination Chamber, The Rock made an offer to WWE champion Cody Rhodes, suggesting that he would make Cody's wildest dreams come true in exchange for his soul.

Rhodes was given until Elimination Chamber to provide his answer, and after emphatically turning The Rock down, John Cena shocked the wrestling world by attacking Cody at the behest of The Final Boss.

Over the past several weeks, Rhodes and Cena have had some heated exchanges on Raw. While The Rock has largely not been part of the equation, Cody brought him up last week and pressed Cena for an answer on why he aligned with The Rock.

Cena didn't respond, leaving fans to wonder if The Rock is going to be part of the remainder of the build to WrestleMania 41 or the WrestleMania 41 event itself.

Last week, Meltzer (h/t Cultaholic.com's Aidan Gibbons) reported that The Rock had yet to confirm to WWE whether he would be able to appear at WrestleMania, which was likely why he wasn't being mentioned.

Rhodes and Cena should be able to put on an excellent match and tell a compelling story at WrestleMania with or without The Rock, but there is no question that having The Final Boss in the mix would make things far more interesting.

Latest Backstage Reaction to Charlotte-Stratton Promo

Additional backstage details have emerged regarding the reaction to the explosive promo segment between WWE women's champion Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair last week on SmackDown.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Carrier), both Stratton and Flair went off script during their exchange, but most WWE talent and staff believe Charlotte was the one who started it.

Flair mocking Tiffany's voice reportedly wasn't part of the script, and it escalated things to the point that Stratton took some personal shots at The Queen.

Chief among them was Tiffany referencing Charlotte's three divorces by saying she is "0-3." Flair reportedly responded with an off-script comment of her own by suggesting that Stratton's boyfriend, Raw Superstar Ludwig Kaiser, had DM'ed her.

Those who Fightful spoke to expressed their belief that Stratton "needed to fight back" after Charlotte took control of their segments last week and the week before, and while Tiffany did precisely that, there was also a sentiment that she may have crossed a line.

While Stratton neither confirmed nor denied the unscripted nature of the promo, she addressed it during an appearance on the Babyfaces Podcast (h/t Fightful's Jeremy Lambert), saying:

"Being so new into this business and being so new as champion, I don't think she really expected me to stand up to her and I don't think she expected me to, almost clap back. All I have to say is, it's live TV, stakes are high. We're going into WrestleMania. I have the title, I want to keep the title. I'm going to pull out every stop that I can and people want to see our match. I think we did a very good job or getting people wanting to see our match and invested in our story. Now, I'm ready to put on the best women's match ever and ready to go to war."

Previously Meltzer (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) reported that WWE knew "for about two weeks" before the promo that there was legitimate tension between Charlotte and Tiffany.

Meltzer added that while both Flair and Stratton received blame backstage for how things went down, Charlotte received more of it.

Only those involved know for sure how much of what played out on screen was actually meant to happen, but there is no question that last week's segment has added to the intrigue of their WrestleMania 41 match.

Saraya Discusses Potential Future in Pro Wrestling, WWE

Former WWE and AEW star Saraya cleared the air this week regarding where things stand in relation to a potential WWE return.

In an interview with WrestleZone's Bill Pritchard, Saraya made it clear that there are no concrete plans in place for her to go back to WWE, saying: "People think I'm going back to WWE or whatever because there's this huge rumor mill happening right now. But I haven't spoken to them. At least not right now, I haven't spoken to them."

Under the ring name Paige, Saraya was under contract with WWE from 2011 until 2022.

While she was an active wrestler, Saraya was one of the most popular and successful members of the WWE women's division, holding the Divas Championship twice in addition to being the inaugural NXT women's champion.

However, a neck injury suffered in late 2017 forced Saraya to announce her in-ring retirement. She found success over the next few years as the general manager of SmackDown and a manager for The Kabuki Warriors, but she wasn't utilized much near the end of her contract.

Saraya signed with AEW in 2022 and gained clearance to return to in-ring competition, which eventually led to her having a brief run as AEW women's world champion.

Her role diminished over the past year, leading to Saraya announcing an amicable parting of ways with the company last month.

Since then, Saraya has dropped hints about wanting to return to WWE, including mentioning to TVInsider.com's Scott Fishman that she has never had the opportunity to compete in the women's Royal Rumble or an Elimination Chamber match.

Saraya added, "Maybe down the line I will get to do them, who knows?"

Every indication is that Saraya is free and clear to sign with WWE or any other wrestling company at any time, so the eventual return of Paige is entirely possible.

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