We are back with another exciting WWE News Roundup to look at the top stories that recently made headlines. A retired wrestler spoke about his onscreen chemistry with Roman Reigns.
An update regarding a significant title rematch has been revealed. Since being released by WWE, Aleister Black has shed some light on easter eggs and subtle traits about his onscreen character.
Meanwhile, The Rock has sent a message to another recently released superstar. Additionally, a former talent discussed the backstage reaction to Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship victory not too long ago.
With that in mind, let's dive straight into the latest WWE News Roundup.
#5 WWE official Adam Pearce on a match against Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Current WWE official Adam Pearce announced his in-ring retirement back in 2014. As a notable authority figure on RAW and SmackDown these days, Pearce has crossed paths with several superstars, with one of them being Roman Reigns.
In early 2021, the WWE official took part in a heated storyline with Reigns. He was expected to face the Universal Champion at Royal Rumble. However, Kevin Owens eventually replaced Pearce in the match.
During a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT’s Oliver Browning, Adam Pearce stated that given the opportunity, he wouldn't refuse to fight Roman Reigns. But a full-fledged match against Reigns isn't something he has actively pushed for behind the scenes:
“If you come to me tomorrow and say, ‘Hey, let’s rewind to the Royal Rumble,’” said Adam Pearce. “If that match was actually going to happen, there is no chance I’d turn that down. That would have been incredible. But it’s not something I ever pushed for or ever expected to happen. It’s not something I aspire to.”
Adam Pearce also gave his take on interacting with Roman Reigns' onscreen character. The five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion praised the SmackDown star's "mob boss mentality" and mentioned their personal relationship:
“I was happy to be a part of it,” Pearce added. “Roman and I have certain chemistry on camera, he’s really taken to this mob boss mentality and does it so well. You can’t teach on-screen chemistry, I think he and I have enough of a personal relationship that the conversations always felt real. It was naturally fun and really easy to play off him and Paul Heyman. It took on a life of its own… I was getting ready, man, getting my boots polished, you know, getting ready to go.”
If Adam Pearce returns to in-ring competition down the line, would you like to see him fight Roman Reigns in a one-on-one match?
#4 Update on Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair's WWE SmackDown Women's Championship rematch
WWE will resume live touring from the July 16th edition of SmackDown. Edge and Sasha Banks are being advertised for this show, which will emanate from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
On the subject of Banks' return, many fans are wondering about her future pursuits after losing the SmackDown Women's Championship to Belair.
During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Bianca Belair spoke about her WrestleMania 37 match against Sasha Banks, revealing that she is "fully expecting a rematch" against The Legit Boss:
“That night at WrestleMania, our match was about so much more than winning the title,” said Bianca Belair. “We made history. And I’m fully expecting a rematch."
“That moment was bigger than us," Belair added. "Even though I won the title, no one lost that night. That’s why there are videos of Sasha smiling at the end. She had so much fulfillment from what came out of that match. Now, when she comes back and the title is on the line, we’ll see who walks out as champion.”
Bianca Belair is currently feuding with Bayley. Their rivalry may end soon, with Belair possibly retaining the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship for good. This outcome would allow a returning Sasha Banks to resume her title feud with Belair.
#3 Aleister Black reveals interesting character details after his WWE release
On June 2, 2021, Aleister Black and a few other superstars were released by WWE. The latest batch of WWE releases has shaken up the wrestling world as a whole, with Black being one of the more popular names to be let go by the company.
After much speculation, Aleister Black recently went live on Twitch to clear the air and reveal some interesting details about his WWE character:
"The one thing you have to understand about Aleister, Aleister Black was basically the devil with memory loss. He knew that, you know, he had done something wrong and he felt that he needed to pay for it," said Aleister Black. "And, I always thought it was an interesting concept, like what if, you know, when Lucifer fell to Earth, what if he woke up like 'how did I get here', that was kind of the idea behind Aleister Black. I used a lot of layers in that, you know, so the more angry Aleister became the more he looked like, you know, parts of him were made out of like a demon flesh. That's why the kick pad was like fleshy-looking."
Black also elaborated on how his WWE promos consisted of easter eggs and hints regarding his opponents:
"One of the things that I actually did with the room promos, I don't know if you ever noticed, I didn't have a lot of control over those, I was just new on the main roster. One of the things that I could have control over was certain words, the idea that Aleister had like this small ability to look into the future," Black stated. "He had like precognative abilities, so I would use my opponents ring gear, their colours in my background. So, you know, when I wrestled the Singh brothers, I had pink in the background and I think with Buddy (Murphy) I had like white and goldish or yellowish light in the background. So that would hint at my next opponents."
"And I did all these like, you know, when I sat in the ring and I said I feel like a caged animal, that was hinting at me and (Erick) Rowan, you know, coz he was walking around with that caged animal," Black continued. "So I tried to have a lot of like easter eggs into my backstage promos and stuff like that."
Aleister Black's recent release occurred at a strange time, as his "Dark Father" gimmick was just about to take off on WWE SmackDown.
Apart from the Dutch superstar, other WWE talents released on June 2nd are listed below:
- Braun Strowman
- Lana
- Ruby Riott
- Murphy
- Santana Garrett
#2 The Rock's response to Ruby Riott's emotional post-WWE release statement
Ruby Riott has received immense support since being released from WWE. Like many other superstars released along with her, she has also issued a post-release statement on social media.
The former Riott Squad member recently took to Instagram and posted a lengthy message to her followers. She made it clear that her pro wrestling journey "is far from over."
Check out Ruby Riott's entire statement in the Instagram post below:
WWE legend The Rock has responded to Ruby Riott's emotional post with some words of encouragement. Check out the Hollywood megastar's reply in the screenshot posted below:
With Sarah Logan and Ruby Riott no longer being a part of WWE, Liv Morgan is the only Riott Squad member who remains an active competitor on WWE's main roster.
Lana and Ruby Riott's recent releases have affected the women's tag team division on RAW and SmackDown. Without Lana, Naomi doesn't have a tag team partner at the moment.
Do you think Naomi and Liv Morgan should move forward as singles
#1 Former WWE star Sin Cara comments on the backstage reaction to Jinder Mahal's world title victory
At Backlash 2017, Jinder Mahal surprised audiences by defeating Randy Orton to become the WWE Champion. Mahal's world title victory is undoubtedly one of the most unexpected moments from the previous decade.
Cinta de Oro (WWE's Sin Cara) recently appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted. During his chat with Dr. Chris Featherstone, he highlighted how it is always "amazing" to witness the story of an underdog's rise to the top:
"It's always an amazing story when you see the underdog, someone you never would expect to get to the top, like Jinder, like Drew, like Kofi Kingston," said Cinta de Oro. "Those stories are amazing of guys persevering. Because he left the company and he came back. And he performed in a way that the company wanted him to be the top guy."
As per the former Sin Cara, many stars in the locker room were quite supportive of Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship win in 2017:
"Jinder is a very nice guy also," Cinta added. "I can't say nothing bad about him. He worked really hard to get his physique better to that level that he wanted. So, it was an awesome feeling for a lot of us. The reaction was great."
You can check out Cinta de Oro's thoughts on various WWE topics in the video posted above.
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for more WWE news and updates.