WWE Rumors on John Cena, The Rock & Carmelo Hayes Backstage, Logan Paul Addresses Haircut & Injury

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

Former WWE Ref Talks Cena vs. Rock at WM 28

At WrestleMania 28 in 2012, The Rock was victorious in his first singles match since 2003 when he beat John Cena in the main event, but the result reportedly didn't sit well with Cena at the time.

Former longtime WWE referee Mike Chioda, who officiated that match, wrote Tuesday in a post on X that Cena "was not happy about doing the job" to The Rock at WrestleMania 28:

The Rock served as the host of WrestleMania 27, but he involved himself in the main event between Cena and The Miz by hitting Cena with a Rock Bottom and costing him the match.

As a result, Cena vs. The Rock was announced for WrestleMania 28 one year in advance.

In a bout that was advertised as "once in a lifetime," The Rock prevailed, handing Cena a loss in one of the biggest matches of his career.

Of course, Cena vs. The Rock was not actually a one-time thing, as they had their rematch in the main event of WrestleMania 29 one year later.

Cena won that match, beating The Rock for the WWE Championship, and getting the stamp of approval from The Rock after the match, as the two legendary Superstars embraced.

Even if Cena did have an issue with having to lose to The Rock at WrestleMania 28, it led to a redemption arc that ended with Cena getting his win back at WrestleMania 29.

How WWE Reportedly Views Carmelo Hayes Backstage

Despite his recent lack of success on SmackDown, Carmelo Hayes is reportedly still viewed favorably within WWE.

As part of a Q&A for Fightful Select, Sean Ross Sapp (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) commented on Hayes' reputation in WWE, saying, "I've never heard anything about him being viewed negatively backstage. He's always been referred to as dependable, professional, and with a lot of upside."

After being the face of NXT for a period of time, punctuated by holding the North American Championship twice and the NXT Championship once, Hayes got called up to WWE's main roster in 2024.

SmackDown made him the third overall pick in the 2024 WWE draft, which led most to believe that a big push was in store for Melo.

However, the booking was inconsistent, and Hayes struggled to establish himself as a big-time player on the blue brand.

That started to change when he won the United States Championship in December 2025 and held it for three months, but after dropping it to Sami Zayn in late March, Hayes was left off the WrestleMania card.

Hayes also failed to make it onto the SummerSlam card, and he lost a U.S. title match against Baron Corbin last week on SmackDown.

That has left fans to wonder if Hayes might be in the doghouse for some reason, but Sapp's comments suggest Hayes is a victim of circumstance rather than a wrestler who is being punished for something behind the scenes.

Logan Paul Talks New Hairstyle and Injury Recovery

Logan Paul is on the shelf with a torn triceps, but the WWE Superstar and YouTube sensation continues to be a major topic of conversation.

Even amid his injury, Paul has been appearing regularly on WWE Raw alongside his Vision stablemates, allowing him to cut promos and remain in the mix despite being unable to get involved physically.

One thing noticed by fans during Paul's recent appearances on Raw is a change to his hairstyle, as his hair has seemingly gotten longer and more unruly.

While discussing his hair during his latest YouTube vlog (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Paul said, "The problem is, okay, so when in wrestling, the hair creates movement. So when I get hit or thrown or something, it looks aggressive."

Paul then demonstrated what his hair looks like when he gets hit, adding, "So, chat, you see that? That hair flip helps. … See what I'm saying? It's dramatic."

At another point during his vlog (h/t Carrier), Paul discussed his injury and how the recovery process has been going.

Paul divulged that he has been receiving platelet-rich plasma injections, saying, "I think people have forgotten that I tore my tricep off the bone. Still very much injured, but I'm healing very fast, though. It's because I'm religious about recovery. And I'm doing something today called PRP."

It has been nearly three months since Paul got injured, as he tore his triceps during the May 23 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, which saw him and Austin Theory successfully defend the World Tag Team Championships against The Street Profits.

During Paul's in-ring absence, Theory has brought Maxxine Dupri into the group and Bron Breakker has been more concerned with Oba Femi than with keeping the tag team titles in The Vision.

Because of that, it seems possible that The Vision will either look a lot different or be dissolved entirely by the time Paul is cleared to wrestle again.