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WWE Rumors: Latest Buzz on Shinsuke Nakamura, Charlotte's Win vs. Asuka and More
March 28, 2019
As WrestleMania 35 approaches on April 7, the WWE rumor mill has been working overtime, especially when it comes to reports of people being unhappy.
TJP and Hideo Itami were released after requesting to be let out of their contracts and Dean Ambrose is set to depart WWE after the upcoming Show of Shows, but there are also people making headlines for good reasons during the Road to WrestleMania.
Charlotte Defeats Asuka on SmackDown
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, Vince McMahon made the decision to have Charlotte Flair win the SmackDown Women's Championship on the day of the match.
Allegedly, the WWE chairman felt the original plan to crown a No. 1 contender in a Fatal 4-Way with Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Carmella and Naomi wasn't going to yield a match worthy of WrestleMania.
The main event featuring Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte now features two women's champions, but we will have to wait to find out if both belts will be on the line.
All four women and Asuka took to social media on Tuesday to express their unhappiness with having their match canceled and potentially losing a women's division match at the pay-per-view.
Shinsuke Nakamura
On the same episode of WOR (h/t Felix Upton of RingsideNews.com), Meltzer also discussed how Shinsuke Nakamura might be added to the list of unhappy Superstars: "He's not doing anything. He's checked out. His family likes Florida. He's out there to surf."
This is sad news, especially since it has only been a year since The King of Strong Style faced AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34 after winning the 2018 Royal Rumble.
When he first arrived on the scene in NXT, Nakamura was immediately pushed to the top. He became a two-time NXT champion and headlined multiple TakeOver events with elaborate entrances.
These days, the Japanese Superstar is in a random tag team with Rusev. He went from being in one of the main events of last year's 'Mania to likely being thrown into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal just to give him something to do.
Hopefully, WWE finds something for him soon because it would be a shame if Nakamura ended up leaving the company once his contract expires.
Kurt Angle Going Out on His Own Terms
Meltzer (h/t Randall Ortman of CagesideSeats.com) also talked about how Kurt Angle has been given permission to pick his own opponents leading into WrestleMania.
The McMahon family clearly values everything the Olympian has contributed to the business, so allowing him to face some new names and old rivals is a great way to honor him.
This is why we have seen him battle young stars like Chad Gable and Apollo Crews in addition to former TNA adversaries such as Samoa Joe and AJ Styles.
Frankly, these would have all been better options than Baron Corbin for his final opponent, but The Lone Wolf makes more sense from a storytelling standpoint after everything he did to make Angle's life miserable as Raw general manager.
The Olympic Gold Medalist and WWE Hall of Famer has earned the right to go out his way, and it's great to see WWE letting him have the freedom to give the fans a few matches he knows they want to see.