Backstage WWE Rumors: Latest on Ronda Rousey, Shane McMahon and More

WWE dominated the wrestling rumor mill this week, with controversial stars and former world champions making headlines on the Road to WrestleMania.

Ronda Rousey's attitude towards the audience rose eyebrows, the latest in the Shane McMahon drama left fans rolling their eyes, and plans (or lack thereof in one case) for Big E and Drew McIntyre left some questioning what is actually going on with the creative process in wrestling's most prominent company.

Dive in to each of those topics now with this collection of reports, rumors and innuendo.

WWE's "Talk" with Ronda Rousey

It was clear in her first promo back with WWE, just 24 hours after her Royal Rumble victory, that Ronda Rousey harbored some hard feelings toward fans that can be traced back to 2019 and their betrayal of her during the lead-in to WrestleMania 35.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reported that WWE officials "had a talk" with Rousey about that bitterness, that it caused her to come across as a heel and that they needed her to be a babyface on the road to this year's Showcase of the Immortals and a showdown with Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship.

It is not a surprise, really, that Rousey would struggle with the negative reaction. She did not do anything inherently wrong to earn the jeers of the audience. She did everything asked of her over that first year in the industry, exceeded all expectations from an in-ring perspective and helped fuel the women's revolution that WWE so loved to pat itself on the back for.

Then, the fans turned on her in favor of Becky Lynch. 

It is easy to forget that Rousey still only has one year under her belt in professional wrestling so she is still learning lessons like just how fickle the audience can be. With an improved SmackDown promo in which she came across like a traditional babyface, with the intensity ramped up a bit, she appears to have understood WWE's message loudly and clearly.

Programming her with a character in Flair, whose relationship with the audience might be even dicier than Rousey's, should help.

Update on Shane McMahon-WrestleMania Plans

Shane McMahon was originally scheduled to have a top spot on the WrestleMania 38 card, per WrestleVotes, and his departure from the company has left WWE scrambling to find another big attraction for the year's most prestigious event.

McMahon was "let go" by his father's company following a rough Royal Rumble, where his backstage antics frustrated several people, including Vince himself and Brock Lesnar.

What is concerning is not McMahon's behavior backstage or whatever he did to infuriate management and talent to the extent that his father had to send him home, but that he was figured into such a significant spot on the WrestleMania card.

The prodigal son has not been any good whatsoever since 2019 and his feud with The Miz. it was a high-profile role in which he was clearly no longer the performer he once was and worse and was more protected by the booking than the actual full-time wrestler, leaving fans to shake their heads.

While it may have left WWE scurrying to find another name talent it can plug into the WrestleMania card, perhaps the company will benefit from not having to devote so much screen time to a character that far overstayed its welcome the last time he was involved with the product.

The Latest on Big E's Fall from the Main Event

Wade Keller of the PW Torch audio show (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats) reported there is still no known reason for Big E's demotion from WWE champion to midcard tag team act but that the performer is highly respected backstage and that most do not believe he deserves the treatment he has endured over the last two months.

Big E inexplicably lost his WWE title to Brock Lesnar at Day 1 in a supposed make-good for the company's inability to produce The Beast's advertised match with Roman Reigns. His run as champion essentially came to an end on a whim, a last-minute creative decision made to appease fans after the top star in the company contracted COVID-19.

Big E did nothing wrong. He carried himself and the title with respect and made several outside appearances for the company during his time at the top of the Raw brand. And for what? To have his future as a top star in the company whimsically decided at the last minute?

Not only was he beaten by Lesnar and shoved down the card, he was pinned clean in the middle of the ring and never received the "contractually obligated" rematch that is so often utilized as a creative clutch?

And now, he finds himself shoved back into a tag team with Kofi Kingston, a guy who endured the very same treatment by management after dropping the same WWE title to the same Lesnar.

It is inexcusable and further evidence of the company's inability, or unwillingness, to create a new star. 

Drew McInture and Post-WrestleMania Creative

Drew McIntyre will be kept strong in the coming weeks and months for a post-WrestleMania feud with Roman Reigns, reported Meltzer in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 

Or, as strong as one can be after feuding with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss. 

McIntyre has appeared more motivated than ever before, as if his neck injury scare reignited the fire in him. He has been more intense and aggressive since returning at the Royal Rumble. We saw it in his performance in that event's titular match and thereafter, in his exchange with Corbin and Moss.

The question is whether WWE Creative is strong enough to meet its goal of keeping The Scottish Warrior pristine through WrestleMania so that he has the credibility necessary to battle Reigns and be seen as The Tribal Chief's equal.

McIntyre is certainly a strong enough performer to hold up his end of the deal. Whether the writing team can is the question. The answer will lie in whatever plans it has for the former WWE champion at the biggest show of the year.