Logan Paul Wanted Conor McGregor Fight, New WWE Rumors on Bayley's Contract & Nick Aldis vs. Gunther

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

Logan Paul Pushed for Conor McGregor Match in WWE

While most of the talk about Conor McGregor coming out of UFC 329 was about whether or not he would return to mixed martial arts after suffering another major injury, Logan Paul sensed an opportunity to see about bringing him into WWE.

During a live recording of his IMPAULSIVE Podcast (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Paul told former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley he texted a WWE higher-up to see about the possibility of getting McGregor in a wrestling ring to work a match with him.

"I'll be honest with you," Paul explained. "I texted my boss after Conor lost. I was like, 'Bro, Conor's cooked. Do something with it. Make a bag. Let me fight him. Big WWE star versus big WWE star, because that's what he is now.'"

McGregor revealed he injured his ACL and meniscus in his first-round loss to Max Holloway at UFC 329, but he is targeting next summer to get back in the octagon.

It's the second consecutive fight McGregor has suffered a major leg injury, though they are separated by five years. He broke his tibia and fibula against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.

Even though O'Malley pushed back against Paul by saying he thinks McGregor will compete in UFC again, the WWE superstar was skeptical because of the injuries he has suffered.

"Are you sure, my guy? Are you sure? I don't know, Sean. I don't know. He's on that knee now," Paul said.

Since WWE and UFC operate under the same TKO umbrella, it wouldn't figure to be that hard to set up something between two stars. McGregor has historically been a volatile personality to work with in a way that could complicate things.

WWE is currently teasing something involving Paul and Tom Brady, so it's not a stretch at all to think they would welcome McGregor with open arms if he wanted to try his hand at professional wrestling.

Bayley Expected to Receive Interest from AEW

One of the most persistent rumors in wrestling right now is Bayley's contract status with WWE and her potential future plans.

Per Fightful Select (h/t Carrier), Bayley's current deal is set to expire at some point before the end of this year assuming no injury time is added and she has yet to sign a new contract.

The report notes WWE is expected to make a "serious effort" to get Bayley to re-sign, but AEW has been monitoring her status for "close to a year" and would make a "strong play" for her if she gets to free agency.

Fightful also reported Bayley's status has been a major topic in both WWE and AEW, with her potentially being able to leverage AEW's interest into certain protections from WWE if she were to stay.

Among the potential conditions cited are fully-guaranteed years and/or no-cut protection that WWE does not typically give out. This became a topic of discussion recently in the wake of WWE releasing talent and some reportedly being asked to take a 50 percent pay cut to remain with the promotion.

While it's unclear what an AEW deal for Bayley would look like, there are certain perks that Tony Khan's company offers that are different from WWE. For instance, AEW covers travel and hotel costs for talent. WWE covers the cost for flights, but not hotels or rental cars.

Speculation about Bayley's future initially started with her longtime friend and AEW star Mercedes Moné posting cryptic items on social media suggesting something could be brewing.

That discussion picked up over the weekend after Bayley lost in decisive fashion to Lyra Valkyria, then was laid out with a nightwing on the steel steps afterward at Saturday Night's Main Event.

It could be viewed as an injury angle to write Bayley off television to build her up for a return to challenge Valkyria again, or it could just be an angle to write her out if she has indicated to WWE officials an intention to go to AEW.

Regardless of what the outcome here ends up being, Bayley is holding a lot of cards right now as she considers what her wrestling future is going to be.

Nick Aldis' In-Ring Future After SummerSlam

As Nick Aldis prepares for his first WWE match against Gunther at SummerSlam and first match in any promotion since 2023, it may not be a one-off thing for the current SmackDown general manager.

Per WrestleVotes (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE could give Aldis "a little run" depending on how the bout with Gunther goes.

"It depends on the performance, the reaction, and how he feels about doing it," JoeyVotes of WrestleVotes said. "So if he walks in there and steals the show, it's hard to say we're not gonna do it again. If he hits a home run, he could go on a little run."

That's a lot of pressure to put on one match, though it's not impossible to imagine Aldis doing well in this setting. Gunther is virtually incapable of having a bad match, so this is a great opponent for him to go up against.

However, it's also fair to wonder to how much time the match will be given. Aldis is only known to the WWE audience as the SmackDown general manager.

Gunther has been arguably the top heel in the entire promotion for the past year and they have been building toward him potentially getting back into the title mix soon, so having him go 50-50 in a match with Aldis would seem counterproductive.

SummerSlam will be Aldis' first match since September 2023 when he defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr. in the main event of the World Class Professional Big Time Wrestling The Great Fall Bash 2 show.