The rumor mill has given us many fascinating reports in recent months in regards to the backstage life of WWE. Vince McMahon is still running the ship and trying to create some momentum for the WWE shows as we approach SummerSlam. Things have been stagnant since WrestleMania on screen, but a lot of excitement has been going on backstage. The drastic changes over the past year with the brand split added a new dynamic. Everyone in the company is trying to take their game to the next level with opportunities there for the taking.

Jinder Mahal winning the WWE Championship on SmackDown showed just quickly things can pick up with one or two decisions changing the landscape. There are plenty of other secrets going down in WWE that could impact the future of the company going forward. We'll take a look at many of the latest rumors that WWE does not want us to know about. A combination of backstage stories about politics in the company to future storylines will be examined along with what the current speculation suggests for each scenario. These are fifteen of the latest WWE backstage rumors that the company is trying to keep secret.

15 15. Vince Blaming Brock's Title Reign For Ratings Drop

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It's no secret that the ratings situation for WWE is not looking good. On one hand, ratings are hard to judge in 2017, but the numbers going down is just a negative no matter how you perceive the importance of it. Raw specifically is driven by the ratings numbers and something has to change. The Universal Championship has barely been on television since Kevin Owens dropped it to Goldberg back in March.

Brock Lesnar winning the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33 was originally planned to see him hold it for a year before losing to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34. The latest rumors suggest Vince McMahon is unhappy with the ratings disaster and may be changing plans. Reigns is now rumored to face Lesnar at Summerslam. The likely scenario is Reigns winning the title to bring it back on television as Vince hopes to improve the ratings.

14 14. Success Of New Japan Stars Making WWE Wrestlers Jealous

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A couple of New Japan stars have made waves in recent weeks with a historic deal. The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes and Marty Scurll of the Bullet Club signed a contract to have their shirts distributed at Hot Topic stores. Someone in an important position at Hot Topic saw their shirts all over Orlando for WrestleMania 33 weekend and wanted it in stores along with the WWE ones.

This is the first time wrestlers have got such a deal on their own without WWE helping them. The shirts in question are the highest selling options on the Hot Topic websites. Funko and other brands are also reaching out to these NJPW stars. Omega, Rhodes and the Bucks all make a great living outranking many WWE stars in salaries. WWE wrestlers frustrated with booking are beginning to grow jealous of the guys having fun and still achieving great financial success.

13 13. WWE Superstars Despised LaVar Ball Being On Raw

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LaVar Ball getting a segment on Raw with The Miz helped get WWE a viral segment. However, it ended up making them look like fools in the process. LaVar’s teenage son LaMelo Ball said the n-word on a live microphone forcing WWE to issue an apology. Despite the video getting attention on various talk shows, many Superstars in the company absolutely loathed it.

The fame of LaVar comes from him saying ridiculous things about various basketball players and basically being a low class individual. Curtis Axel and Braun Strowman spoke out trashing LaVar for disrespecting their ring. A plethora of others were reportedly not happy with someone like that getting television time over them and showing little respect for the business. WWE can’t be thrilled with their talent being so upset over an idea the company felt would be brilliant.

12 12. Locker Room Dislikes Baron Corbin

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Baron Corbin winning the Money in the Bank briefcase proves just how much WWE believes in him. It all but guarantees he'll become the WWE Champion at some point over the next year. Corbin however is reportedly not as popular with his fellow wrestlers as he is with management. During an interview on the Talk is Jericho podcast, Corbin admitted that many others in the locker room don’t enjoy his attitude.

The belief of Corbin is that he doesn’t need to make friends in WWE as he just wants to succeed. Corbin is looking to get a top spot making the most money and doesn’t care about stepping on the toes of others to get there. It isn’t described as a hostile relationship with the locker room, but it's clear that Corbin is not liked.

11 11. Miz's Anti-Ambrose Promo Done To Embarrass Dean

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The Miz recently cut a promo trashing Dean Ambrose for his regression through the years. A specific comment that seemed rather savage focused on Miz claiming we all thought Ambrose would be the “next Roddy Piper” during his days with The Shield and he has instead turned into a complete joke. The term “wacky” was used to discredit Ambrose.

To make it even more awkward, Ambrose came to the ring and didn’t fire any insults back at Miz or try to deny the claims. Rumors suggest Ambrose is in the doghouse of WWE with very important people in management viewing him as lazy and complacent. This promo was either done to motivate Ambrose into making a change or just humiliate him as a punishment. Maybe even both as it was clearly done with ulterior motives.

10 10. Renee Young Kicked Off Total Divas Due To Dean Ambrose

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Another potential Dean Ambrose punishment may focus on his girlfriend and WWE broadcaster Renee Young. The addition of Renee to the cast of the reality series Total Divas was a good one. Young is a fairly entertaining person that has fun chemistry with the other women in the company. The surprising news recently came out that she was removed from the cast after just one season.

Renee, Eva Marie and Paige are no longer on the show with the new additions being Carmella, Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax. Paige and Eva clearly are on terrible terms with the company. Young however has been a model employee. The latest rumor suggests Ambrose not wanting to be a part of the reality show storylines and being an overall pain with WWE recently led to this change. Ambrose has bad news from every angle these days.

9 9. Tommaso Ciampa Out Until 2018

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One horrible rumor currently being reported could kill a tremendous NXT storyline. Tommaso Ciampa turned on tag team partner Johnny Gargano at TakeOver: Chicago in a very memorable moment. Everyone was fascinated to see what was going to happen next with the two feuding. Ciampa sadly suffered an injury in the Ladder Match before their breakup that landed him on the sidelines.

Fans had hope of Ciampa returning in time for TakeOver: Brooklyn in August. Instead, the rumor mill claims Ciampa is scheduled to be out until early 2018. Gargano will now have to wrestle other performers putting the incredible feud on the side. WWE typically reports the estimated timetables for injuries, but they have not given any information on Ciampa. The bad news is either still surprising or they're trying to hide it to keep his status up in the air.

8 8. Former Star Not Allowed Backstage

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Many former WWE stars and friends of the wrestlers are allowed to visit the backstage area. The familiar faces get to hug and say hello to their former pals. Former WWE Women’s Champion Victoria was however one person snubbed from doing this. Victoria has many friends working for the company and attempted to visit them backstage at SmackDown in San Diego.

She claimed her main reason for wanting to go backstage was to congratulate the women on the roster for competing in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. WWE shut down her wishes and forced her to go back in the crowd. This was rather harsh given Victoria was one of the few credible performers trying to make the division a success in the early 2000s. You’d assume WWE would have allowed her backstage considering the likes of Kelly Kelly and Candice Michelle are always there while in their hometowns.

7 7. WWE Tampering With Okada's NJPW Contract

The incredible work of Kazuchika Okada has made him the top star in New Japan today. NJPW is finding larger success than ever before in the United States with fans watching the shows and buying the merchandise. Okada being the face of the company during this boom period speaks well for his standing in the industry.

It was a huge surprise the first week of July when Okada attended both WWE Raw and SmackDown shows. Okada was in the country for the NJPW United States shows in California but opted to stay longer to hang backstage at the WWE shows. The hot rumor is that WWE was attempting to recruit him considering he was hanging in the gorilla position where all the big wigs are. Okada is however signed to a contract with NJPW for the foreseeable future. WWE potentially tampering is not a good look in the business world.

6 6. 205 Live May End Soon

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We are nearing a full year of the Cruiserweight Division becoming part of WWE. The Cruiserweight Classic tournament on the WWE Network was a huge hit. The division coming to Raw and getting their own show 205 Live on Tuesdays has not been a hit. Fans often are dead silent during the cruiserweight matches with little to no momentum for anyone but Neville.

Austin Aries recently requested his release from the company due to being frustrated of his position. WWE wanted him in the Cruiserweight Division and Aries didn’t think it was a place he would find success in. One of the few relevant stars of the show leaving the company is a horrible sign. Neville appears too good for it and has to move up sooner or later.

WWE is already experimenting with the Mae Young Classic Finals getting the spot of 205 Live one week in September. This could be a sign of 205 Live being on the cutting block with the potential of something else replacing it.

5 5. Bray Wyatt & Jojo Dating

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The report of Bray Wyatt cheating on his wife with Jojo broke about a month ago. However, there may be more to the story than just someone committing adultery. Wyatt and Jojo are rumored to actually be dating today. Jojo has not posted on her social media pages since the news broke of Bray’s wife allegedly filing for divorce due to the affair.

Fans digging deep into her social media activity found that Jojo “liked” mostly Wyatt tweets on her page leading up to this story surfacing. Bray and Jojo dating is a horrible look for WWE considering just how much popular the original affair report was online. If there's a boring Wyatt match in the future and the relationship is true, fans could very well heckle him with Jojo chants.

4 4. Vince Thinks Finn Balor Is Too Small

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The use of Finn Balor on Raw following his return from injury has been rather perplexing. Balor made history last year winning his first three matches en route to becoming the first ever Universal Championship. The fact that Finn had to give up the title one night later due to injury was heartbreaking. WWE did nothing with Balor to capitalize on all of this with his return in April.

Fans are shocked at Balor not only failing to get a rematch for the title he never lost, but that he's doing absolutely nothing of importance. Finn is feuding with Elias Samson of all people proving WWE has no idea what to do with him right now. A potential backstage secret would be Vince McMahon viewing Balor as too small. Almost all of his matches since returning feature him playing the underdog getting beat up before a win. This could not be a good sign for the future of Finn.

3 3. Daniel Bryan Planning NJPW/ROH Return

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Daniel Bryan is doing a tremendous job as the General Manager of SmackDown. The crowd reacts with complete joy every time Bryan comes to the ring. There’s just something special about Bryan as a performer that always adds to the show. Bryan’s time in WWE may be limited with his contract expected to end at some point in 2018.

The health of Bryan is the biggest question with WWE refusing to clear him. Bryan however has talked to other doctors that claim his risk in the ring is not higher than the average wrestlers. The social media presence of Bryan sees him teasing ROH returns and liking tweets about New Japan. Bryan is more than likely going to turn down a sweet deal as the GM in WWE to wrestle in the other promotions.

2 2. Alexa Bliss & Sasha Banks Legit Hate Each Other

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The feud between Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks appears to be the hottest feud of the summer in the Women’s Division. Bliss has become the top female heel on the roster and Sasha is arguably the top face. Both women have similar styles that could lead to amazing matches. However, the biggest aspect to feud is just how personal it is.

Bliss and Banks reportedly hate each other going back to their NXT days when Sasha broke Alexa’s nose in a match. The two have thrown shade online taking shots at the other through the years. Banks recently referred to Bliss as a “little girl playing wrestler.” Bliss replied by calling Banks jealous and saying anything for attention. WWE would not be fond of the two stars throwing stiff shots in matches.

1 1. Triple H & Vince McMahon Butting Heads

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One of the biggest rumors backstage that WWE clearly wants to keep secret is the potential power struggle between Triple H and Vince McMahon. Quite a few of the stars Triple H developed and knows can be stars from his time leading them in NXT has seen huge changes on the main roster. Vince still has final word on the main roster product with Triple H adding less to the creative side.

Rumors indicate that Triple H tries to speak his mind on questionable decisions he disagrees with. Naturally, Vince will win out until Triple H truly replaces him as the one in charge. The majority of wrestlers were either brought up in NXT or was scouted by Triple H, so they clearly prefer him. McMahon has to be doing everything in his power to keep this secret if it is true.