Backstage WWE Rumors: Latest on Goldberg, Drake Maverick and More

Credit: WWE.com

Creativity is not dead, or so the latest round of backstage WWE rumors tells us.

Goldberg and Drake Maverick are two of the Superstars ensuring that the oppressive WWE Creative process has not completely overwhelmed the roster's ability to express themselves and show off their personalities.

How have industry insiders suggested they managed that, and who might fans expect to show up in Friday's Super Showdown 50-man battle royal?

Find out now with this recap of the week's top rumors and reports.

Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive of Wrestling Observer Live reported Goldberg's latest contract with WWE gives him complete control over his promos, meaning the final hype on Tuesday's show for his Super Showdown match with The Undertaker featured his own words.

That is probably why the promo came across as naturally and effectively as it did.

Imagine that: a scenario where a wrestler is given reasonable creative freedom to express himself and the promo is more believable and natural than just about anything else on the show.

Goldberg's promo, one of the best of his legendary career, should be used as an example that, given leeway, the performers Vince McMahon has hired to be part of his show will excel when they are allowed to break free of the oppression of the creative process and exhibit just a wee bit of their own personalities and viewpoints. 

Speaking of that creativity, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported Drake Maverick recently impressed officials with the amount of the 24/7 Championship chase material he took the initiative to create on his own.

Maverick's creativity should be of no real surprise to anyone even remotely familiar with his career. In Impact Wrestling, as Rockstar Spud, he and EC3 were routinely involved in some of the most creative and fun angles and spots on the show.

With a knack for comedic timing, he has always been one that you would look for to be involved in something fun. Or, if it was not fun, for him to take it and make it better than it was on the page. That is the sign of a great performer, and despite some of the utter garbage he has been involved in (mostly his whole run with The Authors of Pain), he has managed to move on and thrive.

He has been every bit as responsible for the fun, wild and inventive manner in which the 24/7 title has infiltrated Raw and SmackDown Live and should continue to be as he interacts with R-Truth and Carmella.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com (h/t Cageside Seats) reported WWE officials are planning on using NXT stars for the massive 50-man battle royal at Super Showdown Friday afternoon. Among those stars is Matt Riddle.

Riddle defeated Roderick Strong at TakeOver: XXV in one of that show's better matches and appears to be building momentum for himself on the development brand's roster.

Adding Riddle to a match on that stage is a big step for him, but the key is in how he is portrayed.

If he enters the match and is eliminated in short order, or does not last until late in the match, all of the momentum and goodwill he had built up over the last month or so is essentially diminished for a match that has little to do with what he was accomplishing on Wednesday nights.