Backstage WWE and AEW Rumors: Latest on Vince McMahon, Ring of Honor, More

On the Road to WrestleMania, the wrestling rumor mill runs rampant.

Throw in the sale of one of the most influential companies in the industry over the past two decades, and you have a busy week for some of the industry's top insiders.

This week's collection of rumors focuses on WWE CEO Vince McMahon's appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, the latest on Ring of Honor's sale to All Elite Wrestling's Tony Khan and updates on the statuses of Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton.

Latest on Vince McMahon's 'Pat McAfee Show' Appearance

There is a lot of speculation about an in-ring appearance for Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 38, but Sean Ross Sapp reported Wednesday that the WWE chairman's forthcoming appearance on The Pat McAfee Show is scheduled to be a straight-up, "real" interview.

McMahon has not sat down for a formal interview in eight years, when he appeared on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's podcast.

The Chairman of the Board will likely utilize the interview to help promote WrestleMania, per Sapp, but it seems the intention is to have a genuine interview with one of the most engaging and energetic personalities in sports and entertainment in McAfee.

Could it possibly lead to a match on the biggest show of the year? Sure. Just probably not featuring McMahon himself.

McAfee can hang in the ring. We saw it more than once in NXT, including a jaw-dropping performance inside WarGames. A match with Austin Theory should not be out of the question, especially after the owner of the company's protege brought the topic up Monday night on Raw.

McMahon, though, is far past the man who could be counted on to have fun brawls with top stars on wrestling's grandest stage, and such a match would only highlight his limitations and have fans longing for years gone by.

Tony Khan-ROH Reports

The sale of Ring of Honor to Tony Khan of All Elite Wrestling was kept close to the vest, with many not knowing the transaction was in the works until late Tuesday, according to Sapp. 

"Talent that is booked for the April Supercard of Honor show was not and have not been briefed as of yet, and learned about it by watching Dynamite with the rest of the world," he stated.

Sapp also said suspicion arose when Ring of Honor world champion Jonathan Gresham was backstage at a recent edition of Dynamite in Connecticut despite having a show less than 24 hours later in Atlanta.

While numbers have been thrown around, it is unknown what Khan paid for the promotion, but he does gain the ROH video library, per a company press release.

And therein lies where the greatest value may be.

Not only does Khan receive the company and name, but he also receives a library filled with some of the greatest matches of the past 20 years, featuring many of his own company's top stars. Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, The Young Bucks, Adam Cole, Adam Page and Kenny Omega are all there in those tapes. The library also features the likes of Seth Rollins (Tyler Black during his ROH days), Samoa Joe and Cesaro (formerly Claudio Castagnoli). 

Who knows what the future holds for ROH. For now, AEW conceivably moves one step closer to having a wrestling streaming service, with plenty of footage of premier performers to showcase.

Alexa Bliss Update

Alexa Bliss may have returned at Elimination Chamber, becoming the penultimate competitor in the match and being just a hair away from a date with Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 38, but whatever WWE Creative has in store for her will have to wait until after the biggest event of the year, per Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com.

Bliss is not in the creative plans for a match or storyline at this year's Showcase of the Immortals.

Which raises the question, why bring her back in the first place?

She was the subject of several vignettes set in a therapist's office, most of which were suddenly and inexplicably dropped because she was shoved into said Elimination Chamber match at the last second.

Then, when she was in the match, she was the final competitor eliminated, hinting that she might be in store for some sort of push, only to be left off television the following Monday. She has not appeared since, either, leaving fans scratching their heads about WWE's plans for the popular former women's champion.

It looks like those fans will have to wait, likely because those with creative pull are not quite sure what Bliss will be up to in April.

Randy Orton's Health Status

It was abundantly clear that Monday's match pitting The Street Profits against former Raw tag team champions RK-Bro did not go according to plan. The finish saw Montez Ford deliver a wicked frog splash to Randy Orton, who appeared to go limp as the referee hesitantly counted to three.

A busy Sapp reported it was "a bit of a combo of Orton getting the wind knocked out of him, his ribs crushed, and not being able to move," adding, "we're told there was no heat on Montez Ford on the spot, and it was considered a 's--t happens' situation."

It was clear Orton was not in a good spot moments after the match, with tag team partner Riddle and the referee checking on him. Even Ford could be seen making sure The Viper was OK moments after the splash.

It remains to be seen whether Orton will be forced to miss any time or if the scheduled Triple Threat match for the Raw Tag Team Championship on Monday's Raw, pitting RK-Bro against Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins and Alpha Academy, will need to be altered.