Backstage WWE and AEW Rumors on CM Punk, Stratton vs. Flair, and More

The wrestling rumor mill continues to churn out backstage reports ahead of WrestleMania 41, where CM Punk will main-event for the first time on April 19.

The Straight Edge Superstar has been a model citizen in WWE to this point and even recently reworked his contract with the company.

Dive deeper into that topic, as well as the latest on the backstage reaction to Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton's promo from Friday's SmackDown, with this collection of insider reports.

Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton Have Heat

The April 4 episode of SmackDown saw Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton engage in an intense back-and-forth promo that felt disjointed and, possibly, off-script.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that was the case, with both women venturing off-script. The personal attacks by Stratton toward Flair were not cleared and nor were The Queen's "nepo baby" line or mocking of her rival's voice, and they did earn both women heat backstage.

"The general reaction backstage was some confusion when Charlotte emulated Tiffany, and general "oh s--t," when Tiffany and Charlotte got deeply personal," he wrote.

Sapp did note that it was believed WWE women's champion Stratton needed to verbally fight back against The Queen.

Ludwig Kaiser, Stratton's real-life boyfriend who was mentioned by Flair as having been in her DMs, was said to have gotten the best reaction out of the office by taking it in stride and even having some fun with it across social media.

It will be interesting to see how this affects their WrestleMania match and if any hostility that exists between the performers bleeds over onto the screen again as they enter their final opportunities to build anticipation for a match that feels like a bit of an afterthought compared to others on the loaded card.

Latest on CM Punk's Contract with WWE

Andrew Timms/WWE via Getty Images

Sapp reported that, while he was not provided the specifics, CM Punk is currently under a multi-year deal with WWE.

The Fightful Select insider added: "They reworked some elements of it last year. I'd expect to see him wrestle 15-30 matches a year, televised and non based on what WWE claims."

If that is still the case, 15-30 matches is more than expected and even suggests house shows are not out of the question. We saw as much over the holidays, when Punk wrestled a handful of matches, both singles and tag team, against the likes of Gunther, Dominik Mysterio and The New Day.

He also recently teamed with Cody Rhodes on the tour of Europe.

Not only does that allow Punk to stay fresh between the ropes rather than wrestling intermittently and risking injury, but it also allows him to use his star power to help sell tickets and more importantly, elevate the prominence of whomever he works with.

Ditto for television and premium live events, which will always benefit from Punk's presence.

Update on the Dynasty Main Event Finish

All Elite Wrestling

Jon Moxley defeated Swerve Strickland at Dynasty on Sunday following interference from the returning Young Bucks in a finish that had even the most loyal All Elite Wrestling fans voicing their displeasure across social media.

Sapp reported Matt and Nick Jackson had been backstage at some AEW events but had mostly left before the show started.

He added: "We asked sources in AEW if their involvement had been a long term plan, and were told that 'wasn't something that anyone had heard' over previous months by one source, and 'I felt like we planted seeds for this a while back' by another."

He added, "One theory in the company was that Switchblade Jay White was set for a heel turn ahead of his injury that sidelined him. It was implied that this could have tied into the night's main event. However, White's injury caused significant creative shifts last week, as we'd reported."

There were loosely planted seeds for the Bucks to be involved with Moxley and The Death Riders dating back to October, so there was at least some forethought put into that link.

However, the general fatigue surrounding the world champion, his ongoing story and the incessant interference that accompanies the title matches has caused fans to speak out against its continuation and in favor of a new champion being crowned.

That did not happen and fans were left underwhelmed and unimpressed with an AEW PPV as a result. The follow-up from Wednesday's Dynamite, in which the Bucks claimed their interference was for Hangman Page, did not help matters.