Backstage WWE Rumors: Latest on Seth Rollins' Push, Dean Ambrose and More

WWE WrestleMania season is upon us, and as such, reports surrounding top stars involved in the event should dominate the rumor mill. While that may be the case for the most part, speculation surrounding stars who could find their way to the newly formed All Elite Wrestling continues to persist.

Seth Rollins and his push to the main event of The Showcase of the Immortals, where he will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, remains the headliner this week, but an update on his former Shield teammate, Dean Ambrose, and his plans beyond WWE are equally interesting.

Then there is the latest report surrounding Chris Jericho and AEW, specifically his contract with the Tony Khan-backed promotion.

Triple H Behind Seth Rollins Push

According to WrestleVotes on Twitter, "This renewed Rollins push, and the decision for him to main-event Mania was very much Hunter's call. The Game is going 'all in' (with) Rollins."

Monday night on Raw, 24 hours after The Architect won the 2019 Royal Rumble match, the WWE executive displayed raw emotion as he addressed the man he once tapped as his chosen one. It is not hard to see why.

Rollins has been the heart and soul of WWE for the last three years. He has been a workhorse, serving as one of the lead babyfaces on Monday nights and a Superstar capable of delivering on the biggest stages, under the most pressure and when the company desperately needed a strong match. 

He has seen other Superstars pushed before him, and, after biding his time, he will finally get his chance to thrive as the face of the brand.

Not unlike a young Triple H back in 1999.

It makes total sense that a chief operating officer who endured the same sort of career trajectory, whose appreciation for great wrestlers who earned their reputations across the independent scene is well-known, would go all-in with The Kingslayer.

Now, it is up to Rollins to prove The Game right by delivering that defining WrestleMania performance against Brock Lesnar and ascending to the throne he has worked so hard to reach since returning from his knee injury in 2016.

Dean Ambrose's Future in Professional Wrestling

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio noted Dean Ambrose is close friends with Chris Jericho and their relationship will likely lead him to All Elite Wrestling once his contract with WWE expires in April.

AEW seems the most likely landing spot for The Lunatic Fringe after WWE officially announced his departure from the company Tuesday afternoon. More creative control and the first promise of big money outside WWE in North America will likely ensure Ambrose is not the only Superstar to test the waters.

A former WWE champion, the 33-year-old returned from injury last summer but has not been the same in-ring performer he was before. That the creative support has not been there, leading to colder crowds for him, has not helped matters.

Unhappy and seeking professional satisfaction elsewhere, Ambrose will have the opportunity to showcase the less cartoonish lunacy that made him one of the most engaging young stars in the industry under his John Moxley persona nearly a decade ago.

Chris Jericho's AEW Contract Stuns the Industry

Meltzer also reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that while Chris Jericho is not making John Cena or Brock Lesnar-level money in All Elite Wrestling, the value of his contract stunned the wrestling world in that it is larger than those of most other WWE Superstars. 

No specific values were given.

Jericho is a highly sought-after star in the wrestling world. His name carries credibility from which a company in its infancy like AEW can benefit and grow. It makes sense that the only star on that roster to headline WrestleMania would be worth a contract that large, even if he is 48 and on the downside of his career.

The first undisputed champion in WWE history is coming off extraordinary performances in New Japan Pro-Wrestling against Tetsuya Naito, Evil and Kenny Omega.

He'll now look to lend his brand of star power to a company that can not only grow early in its infancy but also ultimately become the competition to Vince McMahon's promotion that has not existed since the demise of World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling in 2001.