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Lesnar and Nia Jax Heat Rumored, Shawn Michaels and Rob Van Dam in WWE Roundup
November 16, 2018
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Backstage Heat on Lesnar and Jax?
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Marc Middleton of WrestlingInc.com), there is reportedly some backstage heat on Universal champion Brock Lesnar and Raw Women's Championship No. 1 contender Nia Jax.
Meltzer noted that it is believed Lesnar's German suplexes to Sunil Singh on Monday's episode of Raw were unsafe. Some backstage also reportedly believe that Jax is an unsafe worker after giving Becky Lynch a broken face and severe concussion on Raw by punching her in the face.
As a result of the injuries she suffered, Lynch was replaced by Charlotte Flair in her scheduled match against Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series on Sunday.
Per Meltzer, much of the backstage heat on Lesnar is coming from his co-workers, while Jax may be under fire from both fellow wrestlers and management since she has also caused injuries in the past.
Michaels Has No Interest in Another Match
Shawn Michaels competed in his first match since 2010 at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, but the Heartbreak Kid is seemingly against lacing up his boots again.
In an interview with former WWE Superstars Edge and Christian on E&C's Pod of Awesomeness (h/t Sean Rueter of Cageside Seats) this week, Michaels responded by saying, "Negative," when asked by Edge if he's going to have another match.
The 53-year-old noted that the tag team match with Triple H against The Undertaker and Kane wasn't about money, and he suggested that the reason he doesn't want to have a match at WrestleMania is that he has high standards for his in-ring performance on that stage:
"So technically, yeah, I could go in there and do my stuff and have a young guy to work around me and all that. But the 100 percent only reason I said yes to this one was, one, it was a special request by other people and, again, it was a chance—I looked at it as somebody's asking the [Rolling] Stones and Kiss to come over and just play their greatest hits. And unfortunately, it's sort of sad because everybody feels like, 'Oh it was the money,' and this, that and the other. And I mean it respectfully of course, but technically, I'd make more money doing a singles match at WrestleMania, you know what I mean? Cause that brand is bigger, you know, I'm charging more for a singles match—I got news for you.
"But I didn't feel like I was put in the position in this particular match to be 'that guy,' you know what I mean? And everything else about working with a young guy and it being WrestleMania puts me in a much tougher, more difficult situation performance-wise and that's something I've had—that's been consistent over the last eight years, I have not wanted to be put in that position, because I'm good with the performances that I had at WrestleMania and I wanted to end those the way that I ended them. This just happened to be a special thing that again I didn't think in a million years would come up, but it did and that's honestly the only reason I said yes."
There are numerous dream matches on the table for The Showstopper against the likes of AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins, but based on his comments, Crown Jewel may have simply been a one-off situation for the Hall of Famer.
RVD Not Ruling Out WWE Return
It has been over four years since Rob Van Dam last competed for WWE, but an eventual return isn't out of the question.
When asked by SI.com's Justin Barrasso about a WWE return, RVD said the following:
"I know that my fans want to see me back in WWE. To that, I can say, it's good to be wanted. I can tell you that I enjoy my days off a lot more than my days on, but I appreciate the fans. It's because of them I have the life I have. So thank you to the fans, I know they're going to stick with me for life, and never say never."
Van Dam joined WWE in 2001 after a highly successful stint in ECW, and he went on to become WWE champion, as well as Tag Team, Intercontinental, European and Hardcore champion.
RVD left the company in 2007, but he returned for stints in 2013 and 2014. Since then, the 47-year-old has worked sporadically on the independent scene.
Free Match of the Day: Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton
In anticipation of Sunday's Survivor Series pay-per-view, WWE put a WWE promoted a WWE Championship match between Michaels and Randy Orton at Survivor Series 2007 on its YouTube channel Friday.
Orton emerged victorious in that match by hitting HBK with an RKO.
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