For being a public entertainment product, the WWE is notorious for keeping its doors only slightly ajar for its fans. We know it’s scripted, we know the wrestlers are only characters, and we know that wrestling has long and short term stories, but we don’t know the nitty gritty details of it.
If there’s one thing WWE fans love more than watching the wrestling storylines unfold on television, it’s knowing what’s going to happen beforehand. This desire to be “in the know” is why the dirtsheets were created, and what continues to keep them in business. However, at the end of the day, wrestling is just like a television show or movie and involves stories; and where there are stories, there are rumors about how those stories came to be.
Just like we all check the Trivia section of IMDB after every movie we see, fans of scripted entertainment love to know the story behind the story. “Why did the character do this?” “What changes were made last minute?” and “How did this come to be?” are popular questions every fan asks. Unfortunately for fans, these reasons sometimes baffle the mind. Sometimes the reasons are so strange we hope and pray they aren’t true.
Presented in this article are some of the most bizarre rumors circulating the wrestling community in recent months. Whether these rumors are “officially reported” by dirtsheets such as the Wrestling Observer, or simply a case of “I heard from a guy who knows a guy”, these crazy theories toe the line between being obviously false, and so-weird-they-have-to-be-true.
15 15. Cena Buried Ziggler's Career
John Cena and Dolph Ziggler are polar opposites of one another in almost every way. But how likely is it that one of these wrestlers is directly responsible for the fate of the other?
Pretty likely it turns out.
According to PW Mania, Cena and Ziggler faced each other at house shows early in their career, leaving Cena less-than-impressed with his opponent. The rumor goes that Cena complained to Vince about it, leaving Ziggler in the shape he is now. We all know that Vince has a vendetta against Ziggler, and we all know Cena has a profound influence behind the scenes, but we all certainly hope that one man’s career wasn’t derailed by the opinion of another. Did a few house shows doom a promising career? We’ll never fully know.
14 14. Rusev Loses His Hair...And His Push
Few wrestlers had a better start to their careers as Rusev did. He mowed through his competition for years, amassing a winning streak even Goldberg would be jealous of. Yet after losing his US Title to John Cena, Rusev’s push seemed to have just stopped on a dime. If the rumor mill is to be believed, the reason Rusev stopped being pushed was because he cut his hair.
Not only did Rusev cut his hair, he did so without telling the WWE. This apparently infuriated Vince McMahon to the point where Rusev was taken off television and has barely been seen since. The stupidity of it all is why we hope this rumor isn’t true. For the WWE to be so petty as to take away someone’s push for a simple haircut is too crazy to be true...right?
13 13. TJ Perkins Loses His Last Name... Why?
The WWE has a history with changing their wrestlers’ names in the middle of their careers. Both Neville and Cesaro lost their first names and, most recently, Elias Sampson lost his last name. We may never know the reason for some names changing, but we may have some insight to a recent change, and boy is it stupid. 205 Live star and CWC champion TJ Perkins changed his name to TJP because Vince apparently hates the restaurant chain Perkins. We don’t yet know if Vince’s eggs were too runny, or his pie wasn’t banana-y enough for him, but one bad experience was enough to change the name of a former champion. If that’s all it takes to change someone’s name, we better hope Vince is never delayed at the airport in Charlotte.
12 12. Big Cass is in Big Trouble Because of Trump?
Big Cass seemed to be on the track to a push to the top recently, as he was able to beat a veteran like The Big Show and WWE had him as the clear cut favorite over Enzo Amore following the duo's split. However a torn ACL has kept Cass on the shelf and will continue to for the rest of the year. However, rumors keep persisting that Cass is upsetting his peers backstage due to his vocal (and sometimes obnoxious) support of President Trump. We don't know if it will negatively affect Cass's standing with the company, or if it will not. But all we know is that if Cass does lose his push, we hope it's due to his in-ring shortcomings and not for his political views.
11 11. The Women Don't Like Sasha Banks Because She's Anti-Social
For as large as WWE’s roster is, it’s actually quite a small work environment. It’s even smaller when you take into consideration the women’s division. Being a part of the group can go a long way in how your coworkers think of you, which is why being anti-social can cause heat.
The rumor is that a few in the women’s division, especially Alexa Bliss, aren’t fans of The Boss because she would rather spend time along with her husband (who works backstage) than with the other girls. Wrestling fans don’t need to be told twice what it means to be anti-social, so it’s understandable that we’re a little biased in this argument. We all want to be liked, but it’s a little unfair to actively dislike someone just because they won’t hang out with you. Lookin at you Little Miss Bliss!
10 10. Naomi Loses the Belt Because of Toys
Wreslters lose championships for a variety of reasons: Injuries, time off, storyline changes, etc. but how many wrestlers have lost their championship because of a toy? If the rumors are to be believed, Naomi could be the first. The rumor goes that the WWE wanted to produce a toy belt that glows just like Naomi’s does, but the manufacturers couldn’t get the belt complete and produced in time for the upcoming holiday season. Once that news was broken to the WWE, they decided to get the belt off of her and put it back once the toys could be produced.
As far as reasons to lose a championship, this has to be the dumbest. Heaven forbid the WWE keep a belt on someone because the fans like them and they’re a good worker! Nope, it only matters if they can sell toys....
9 9. Mike Bennett Needs to Diet
One of the most recent signees for WWE to get an immediate push were Maria Kanellis and Mike Bennett. Billed as “Mike and Maria Kanellis” to take advantage of Maria’s previous work in WWE, the two were given the character of lovebirds and put on TV right away. But where have they been since then? If the dirtsheets are to be believed, it’s in the gym and the low-fat aisle in the grocery store. Despite being pushed out of the gate, the couple hasn’t been seen in a while because Mike gained too much weight in recent months and needed to get cut. Vince has always been an upper-body guy, but didn’t he know who he was signing? If you wanted Mike to lose weight, why push him in the first place? The world may never know.
8 8. The Reason Becky Lynch Doesn't do Promos
Vince McMahon shoulders a lot of the blame for the crazy decisions in the WWE, but Vince has a second-in-command that many people don’t pay much attention to in Kevin Dunn. Kevin Dunn works in the production truck and has just as much of a say in programming that Vince does. Dunn’s opinion stretches far enough to affect even Becky Lynch.
Rumor has it the Irish Lass Kicker isn’t given adequate promo time because Kevin Dunn hates her accent. Why this hate doesn’t extend to other Irish superstars like Sheamus and Finn Balor remains to be seen, but if you’ve been missing Becky on the mic, you know who to blame. This just sounds so idiotic and so hypocritical, yet it wouldn't even surprise us if it was true at this point.
7 7. KO Loses his US Title Because of Other Foreign Heels
Just like Naomi losing her belt because of toys, the reason Kevin Owens lost his US Championship to AJ Styles is just as bizaare. With WWE champion Jinder Mahal touting how much America hates him, and with a recent Rusev/John Cena flag match, there are apparently too many foreign heels. KO was using his Canadian nationality to push himself as the US champion, but three foreign heels is one too many according to the WWE.
KO subsequently lost his title to AJ Styles and hasn’t mentioned his heritage since. AJ went on to feud with Baron Corbin and other US open challengers, while KO pivoted to a rivalry with Shane McMahon. Meanwhile, Jinder continues the xenophobic rants. Please WWE, we'll gladly trade Mahal losing the title to put one back on Owens, who can garner heat without going on racist rants.
6 6. Corbin was Buried Because of Anti-Meltzer Tweets
From feuding with John Cena and winning the Money in the Bank Contract, to losing the contract and falling as far as being a special guest referee, Baron Corbin has had one crazy 2017. If you’re wondering who he pissed off backstage, the answer could surprise you. It wasn’t Vince, or Kevin Dunn or any WWE employee. If the rumors are to be believed, Baron Corbin is being buried because of what he said to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
I have no idea why the WWE would be so friendly to Meltzer, a WWE spoilsport by all accounts, that they would punish their own talent for talking to him on twitter, but that’s the reason floating around. Recently, there's also been the story of him undermining WWE doctors regarding their views on concussions, which also got him in hot water.
5 5. Stupid Reasons for Stupid Names
Remember the leaked rules for WWE commentators that came out a while back? This document listed the reasons to use or not use various bits of language while on air and explains a lot as to why the commentators say what they say. There are some additions to this list with reasons that will make you cringe (or laugh). The Money in the Bank Briefcase is no longer a briefcase, it’s now the Money in the Bank Contract. The reasons for this are two-fold: 1. Briefcases are “too corporate” for wrestling, and 2. Using the word contract puts more attention on contract signings.
They also stopped calling belts “belts”, they are now titles. The reason for this is to put more prominence on the item. Basically, Vince says “Belts are for pants! A title is prestige!”. He’s apparently forgetting the decades it was called a belt.
4 4. Kairi Saine Can't Use Her Finisher Because of Bayley
The elbow drop from the top rope has been a staple in wrestling since it was made most famous by Macho Man Randy Savage. Since being used by him, the move has been used by countless other wrestlers in the ring, including Bayley. Another wrestler who famously uses the elbow drop is Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Saine. But don’t get too used to that move. According to the rumor mill, Vince won’t allow her to use it once she hits the main roster because the move is already claimed by Bayley.
Never mind the fact that finishers are stolen all the time (Figure 4, SharpShooter), and most finishers are a variant of a move anyway (like the DDT or Superkick), but to claim Bayley is the reason and not Macho Man? This devalues all three superstars and doesn’t make anyone look good, especially the WWE.
3 3. Sasha Banks' Summerslam Outfit was a Dig to Sienna
There’s nothing better than a good interpromotional rivalry. This all started with GFW’s Sienna tweeting the WWE’s Charlotte about allegedly stealing Sienna’s identity. Not only is Sienna mad about Charlotte wearing peacock feathers, but she’s also mad because Charlotte and some of the WWE women will joke around with their pinkie fingers up, something Sienna claims she did first. If you think Charlotte responding to Sienna was the end of it, you would be wrong.
Taking a look at Sasha Banks’ SummerSlam outfit shows an even greater, ahem, “homage” to Sienna’s look. The rumor is that WWE is standing by their women in the best way possible, by doing exactly what they were accused of in the first place. Leave it to the WWE to take pettiness to the next level.
2 2. Vince Hates NXT
One of the biggest frustrations for wrestling fans is the lack of push for NXT stars. NXT may be the WWE’s developmental league, but they amass a great following and never seem to do anything when reaching the main roster. There are some exceptions to the rule, but it’s always been a mystery.
According to the rumor mill, despite being a WWE product, and helmed by Triple H, Vince doesn’t believe in the wrestlers down there and only wants to push “his guys”. Vince has been known to belittle superstars the moment they want in the door. Some recent examples is calling The Vaudevillians “stupid” and accusing Apollo Crews of having no personality and “only being a smile”. Reasons like this is why people yearn for the day Vince retires and Hunter can finally take over the company.
1 1. Strowman's Push Almost Derailed by Kurt Angle's Ex
Braun Strowman is one of the WWE’s biggest attractions (both literally and figuratively). Unfortunately for Strowan, his push was stopped almost before it began because of an incident with Kurt Angle’s ex wife.
According to the stories, Karen Jarrett (Angle’s ex) asked Strowman for an autograph for her son, which he denied. Karen then pulled the “do you know who his father is” card, which caused Strowman to regret his actions. If the story is to be believed, it took Strowman begging on his knees to be forgiven before the two made up and everything worked out OK. For as entertaining as it would be to see Strowman begging on his knees, it can’t be true that a superstar’s push was almost halted by a fake GM’s ex-wife.