Hardy Boys Meet with WWE, Aleister Black Talks Retirement and Charlotte Reveals Change
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Hardy Boyz Meet with WWE Officials in Las Vegas
Matt Hardy revealed he and brother Jeff met with WWE representatives in Las Vegas during WrestleMania 41 weekend.
"We go back from WrestleCon, we just have enough time," he said on his Extreme Life with Matt Hardy podcast (via Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News). "I shave, I shower, and then we get in the car — WWE sent a little limo over to get us — we go to WWE HQ, we sit there, we do 90 minutes of work with WWE, and we see some people over there, whatever. This ends up being about two hours by the time we get back."
The purpose behind the visit is unclear.
The Hardys had a similar conference with WWE around SummerSlam, which was reportedly about filming some interviews. With WWE and TNA's ongoing partnership, this could also foreshadow a larger presence for the Hardy Boyz within the company.
Matt and Jeff showed up in NXT in February, beating the No Quarter Catch Crew and then successfully defending the TNA tag titles against Fraxiom at NXT Roadblock.
Given their legendary status as a duo, the Hardy Boyz certainly still offer some some value to WWE.
Aleister Black Sets Rough Timeline for Retirement
Aleister Black is well aware a pro wrester's career is finite.
In the new documentary Tom Budgen: Stillness in the Void, Black said he hopes to keep competing well into his 40s but acknowledged the timeline is fluid.
"I'm 39. I hope that I have another five to eight years in me," he said starting at the 12:29 mark. "Physically, I feel great. I think this is probably the best I've looked physically as well. ... But I have no illusions about this, that the majority of my career is well past me. Absolutely."
Black is fresh off making his return to WWE. He interrupted a promo by The Miz and laid out the former world champion last Friday on SmackDown.
That sets the stage for his first match with the promotion since 2020.
Crossing paths with The Miz is a great way for Black to reacquaint himself with the WWE Universe and make an impression with fans who are unfamiliar with this work.
Charlotte Discusses Change for Character
The lines between reality and kayfabe blurred during the buildup to Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair's WrestleMania match when Stratton bought up Flair's multiple divorces.
While it didn't look like that was part of the plan for their feud, Flair sounds a bit liberated by having her personal life put out in the open.
"I think a weight has been lifted off my shoulders because 'Charlotte' had to be so perfect and pristine all the time and people couldn't separate the character and who I am in real life," she said to People's Sean Neumann.
The 14-time champion also hinted at a possible change to her on-screen persona.
"On the opposite side of WrestleMania, I think I will tap more into that and kind of try to bring me — Ashley, the real person — to Charlotte, because I do feel like Charlotte really isn't, the character I made is not relatable," she said.
Especially once she became a star in NXT, Flair embodied a lot of the qualities as her father, Hall of Famer Ric Flair. Although she has worked as both a babyface and a heel, she has largely remained the same uber-confident stalwart of the women's division.
She told Neumann she instead would like to be a wrestler who "high-five the kids as I walk down the aisle."
A more vulnerable and "relatable" version of Flair would help to freshen up her character.
Seth Rollins' New Stable and Biggest WWE Backlash 2025 Storylines
WrestleMania 41 was a significant letdown for much of the WWE Universe, but there were some redeeming qualities that made the event memorable.
From Paul Heyman turning on CM Punk and Roman Reigns to John Cena stealing the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes, the groundwork for Backlash 2025 has been set, and fans are genuinely excited.
Here are the biggest storylines to watch heading into the next WWE premium live event on May 10.
Seth Rollins Tag Team Match
While much of WrestleMania 41 was a letdown, the alliance formed between Seth Rollins and Heyman was the biggest storyline coming out of the event, sans The Rock's no-show.
Bron Breakker joined the stable the following night on Raw, and the excitement level for the storyline is through the roof as thoughts turn to the possibility of more members waiting in the wings.
At Backlash, Rollins and Breakker will likely be tasked with taking down the two men The Visionary fought at WrestleMania: Roman Reigns and CM Punk.
With the tag team of Reigns and Punk unlikely to stay cohesive, Rollins and Breakker should be able to earn a marquee victory.
In addition to putting over the new stable, WWE could set the stage for an eventual feud between Punk and Reigns either immediately or further down the line.
John Cena's Old Foe
In one of the worst WrestleMania main events in recent memory, John Cena made history by winning his 17th world championship from Cody Rhodes.
As always, the first feud for the new holder of the undisputed WWE title is incredibly important.
Predictably, Triple H and WWE Creative went with the path of least resistance and booked Randy Orton to attack Cena on Raw, laying the groundwork for the champion's first title defense at Backlash in The Viper's hometown of St. Louis.
The problem for many fans is that Orton and Cena have fought so many times in the past—at least 10 times on pay-per-view alone—that there is a negative connotation with the matchup. Add in the fact that Cena will clearly win, and fans have a right to be less enthralled.
The saving grace of this storyline is that the roles are reversed. While the title win left a lot to be desired, Cena's run as a heel has been fun. On the other hand, Orton's run as a popular face doing whatever he wants has been enjoyable.
The fresh dynamic is interesting, but the match will be mediocre and the outcome is predictable.
Becky Lynch Heel Turn
Another aspect of WrestleMania that was a disappointment for fans was Bayley giving up her moment for Becky Lynch.
While the WWE Universe loves the returning star, the bad taste left over The Role Model's treatment killed the segment.
Even as Lynch and Lyra Valkyria won the tag team titles, the crowd's reaction wasn't at the level expected for a Superstar of The Man's caliber.
Lynch and Valkyria lost the titles after just one day, resulting in a brutal attack by the veteran on the up-and-comer.
Thus far, The Man's return has been lackluster at best.
The problem for WWE Creative now is that it has portrayed Valkyria as one of the company's brightest young stars, but there is little doubt she is taking the loss to Lynch at Backlash.
The two Irish Superstars will put on a show, but Valkyria could be buried after this feud.
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Hot Take: Seth Rollins, Paul Heyman Must Take Jey Uso's WWE Heavyweight Title ASAP
If WWE is smart, Jey Uso won’t have that World Heavyweight title around his waist for long—not with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman running around in a new stable, anyway.
Whether Uso was a transitional champion or someone set up for a long, long run as a top guy was very much up for debate well before his obvious win over Gunther at WrestleMania 41.
The sudden presence of Rollins, Heyman and Bron Breakker as a faction, though, ends it all.
The title change needs to happen now. Meaning, the Backlash PLE at the latest.
Some will absolutely not agree, but such a move would just be smart business on multiple levels. It’s about the company-wide outlook as much as it is about Uso’s already directionless-feeling early part of his reign.
Zoom out and just look at the top title scene. John Cena predictably took the belt off Cody Rhodes at ‘Mania and will feud with Randy Orton going into Backlash. That entire scene is now wrapped up again with a part-time champion and doesn’t figure to change until at least the summer, but could easily go longer than that.
Cena’s spot creates a situation where WWE could easily write a new Bloodline-like tale with the other top title—provided it’s around Rollins’ waist, not Uso’s.
There’s an opening for a consistent, week-to-week long-form story now and Rollins’ new faction is the perfect fit. Bonus points if they add another member and give plenty of wrestlers like Drew McIntyre title shots while playing up some eventual intra-stable drama before a split down the road.
Those who cry foul for Uso with this sort of idea might want to slow down, too. An unfair loss because Rollins’ stable plays the numbers game and wins won’t make fans cool off on him. He’ll still have the beloved entrance and big merchandise numbers.
Consider the alternative—Uso ends up dropping the belt to someone like McIntyre, or even a Gunther rematch. Or, they stretch out his run to fit the seemingly hinted Sami Zayn heel turn. Losses in those scenarios might actually cool him off, especially if his title reign goes for too long and feels like the “B” title behind Cena (which it is, but it will matter over the long run).
Getting Uso back in chase mode rather than overexposing him as champion makes sense. Getting him in chase mode unfairly and putting unending heat on Heyman and Co. is just smart wrestling booking.
We all agree Rollins deserves it, too—just ask the ‘Mania crowd while he went heel with Heyman, or the Raw after ‘Mania crowd. He’s transcended heel and face stuff for the most part and is universally loved more than most simply because he spent the last two years railroaded as an afterthought while The Rock caused chaos around the ‘Mania builds.
WWE needs a headline act and it’s very obviously positioned this new faction as such. It’s also not going to spotlight matches against CM Punk and Roman Reigns every single week, either.
A faction that strong is going to go after gold in a big way across the roster. Rollins, the original holder of Uso’s title, by the way, should be first up to strike the reactions before it cools off.
This would also subvert expectations in another way. By now, WWE fans well understand that the Triple H era of booking loves its long title reigns for the top spots. Slashing that expectation with a quick takedown of Jey would flip that, deepening the shock, heelish reactions for Rollins and fan desire to back Uso more as he seeks to get it back.
Let’s not pretend this is a case of say, Brock Lesnar stripping Kofi Kingston of a title and everyone never speaking of it again, either. This is Seth, of all wrestlers, in a new faction with Heyman and Triple H at the controls, so Jey’s not going to be up and abandoned.
Plus, for all we know, they’ll need Jey quickly back on Bloodline duty in some fashion—especially if it gets to the point that Roman’s family is the only one that can stand up to Seth’s faction.
Not everyone would come out of this happy, of course. But Jey will always have that moment and stand as proof that Superstars can work their way up the ladder and reach the highest of spots through said work.
Now, though, the same moment and anticipation of further moments can be put to work in crafting great stories for fans. Rollins and his faction getting hands on that gold and resetting Jey to chase mode should be a matter of when, not if.
And the when? ASAP.
WWE Rumors on The Rock, Bad Bunny, John Cena, Travis Scott, Randy Orton and Joe Hendry
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
How WWE Wrestlers Reportedly View The Rock's WrestleMania Absence
Some WWE Superstars were reportedly caught off guard by The Rock's decision to remove himself from the John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes storyline after being a central part of it at Elimination Chamber.
According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlePurists), "confusion" was the main sentiment expressed by WWE talent over The Rock not appearing during the build to WrestleMania or at WrestleMania 41 itself.
One WWE wrestler told Fightful, "We all found it kind of weird that he didn't promote the show at all."
At Elimination Chamber, Cena shockingly turned heel and attacked Rhodes at The Rock's behest after Cody turned down the opportunity to sell his soul to The Rock.
Given The Final Boss' role in the turn, it seemed likely that he would appear leading up to and at WrestleMania, but he was completely absent from WWE programming.
Cena beat Rhodes at WrestleMania to become a record-breaking, 17-time world champion, but it was thanks to interference from Travis Scott rather than The Rock.
After not showing up at WrestleMania, much to the chagrin of many wrestling fans, The Rock appeared Tuesday on the Pat McAfee Show to explain his absence and give his thoughts on WrestleMania.
The Rock said he was the one who decided to not be part of the Cena vs. Rhodes feud after Elimination Chamber since he wanted the spotlight to be entirely on them rather than him:
He went on to say that while he could have shown up at WrestleMania and gotten involved, he didn't want to do so since he has projects coming up and wouldn't have been able to pay it off properly.
Instead, fans who were expecting The Rock were left disappointed, and the overall reaction to the finish of the WrestleMania 41 main event was that it fell flat.
While it wasn't the ideal start to Cena's 17th world title reign, things seemed to get back on track on Raw when Randy Orton hit him with an RKO to set up a potential match between them at Backlash.
WWE Reportedly Considering Bad Bunny, Travis Scott Tag Match
WWE has reportedly discussed a tag team match that would pit superstar musicians Bad Bunny and Travis Scott against each other.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestleTalk), if the match comes to fruition, it would likely see Scott teaming with Cena against Bad Bunny and a partner "of the level of Cena."
While Meltzer has no confirmation on who Bad Bunny's partner would be, he speculated that it could be Rhodes given his popularity and the built-in story he already has with both Cena and Scott.
When Cena turned heel on Rhodes at Elimination Chamber, Scott was part of the segment, and he even gave Cody a black eye by hitting him with a stiff strike to the face.
Scott showed up again at WrestleMania 41 to help Cena against Rhodes, and while Cody got some measure of revenge by hitting Scott with Cross Rhodes, Cena took advantage of the distraction and won.
After Elimination Chamber, Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) reported that Scott had already been doing some pro wrestling training and discussions had taken place regarding future matches.
On Tuesday, The Rock said on the Pat McAfee Show (h/t Ringside News) that Scott is going to start training with WWE Hall of Famer Booker T soon.
Bad Bunny has already worked a few matches in WWE, as he debuted at WrestleMania 37, teaming with Damian Priest to beat The Miz and John Morrison.
He also went on to face Priest in a highly regarded street fight in his home country of Puerto Rico at Backlash 2023.
WWE has a long history of involving celebrities and putting them in matches in order to garner mainstream attention, and a tag team match involving Bad Bunny, Scott and even Cena would unquestionably accomplish that goal.
Orton Reportedly Chose Hendry as WrestleMania Opponent
TNA world champion Joe Hendry's selection as Randy Orton's surprise opponent at WrestleMania 41 reportedly occurred due to input from The Viper himself.
According to Meltzer (h/t WrestleTalk), Orton was given a list of potential opponents to choose from, and Hendry was his call.
Orton was originally supposed to face Kevin Owens in a grudge match after Owens put him on the shelf with a piledriver and Orton returned to get some revenge at Elimination Chamber.
However, a few weeks before WrestleMania, Owens announced that he was dealing with a neck injury that would prevent him from competing on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis initially told Orton that meant he would not be on the WrestleMania card either, but Orton hit Aldis with an RKO and insisted on being given a match.
It was later revealed that Orton would have an open challenge, meaning fans would not know his opponent until they made their entrance.
Hendry arrived at WrestleMania 41 to a huge reaction, and although the match ended up being a relatively quick victory for Orton, Hendry and TNA benefited from being featured on WWE's biggest show.
Additionally, Orton got the win he was obviously always supposed to get, as he parlayed it into an attack on new WWE champion John Cena on Raw, likely setting up a title match between them next month at Backlash in Orton's hometown of St. Louis.
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WWE's WrestleMania 41 Aftermath Has Been One Big Controversy After Another
WrestleMania 41 is officially done, and it's safe to say WWE has lost some of its luster following one of its hottest periods to date.
The positive buzz around the undisputed industry leader was at an all-time high last April as it celebrated the 40th anniversary of The Greatest Spectacle in Sport Entertainment. The company was enjoying a run of record sellout events and a creative boon thanks to The Bloodline saga.
Even more, one could argue WrestleMania 40 was among the best shows in the event's history because WWE successfully stuck the landing with Cody Rhodes' world title win. The closing moments of Night 2 led to one of the most satisfying endings the company has ever produced.
So, it's hard to reconcile the highs of 2024 with the lows of this year's build and the deflating chain of events surrounding the festivities. The two-night event was a mixed bag, to say the least, but much of the negative buzz from the press cycle from April 16-22 was also so distracting.
Yes, WWE still raked in an obscene amount of revenue and touted substantial attendance numbers. However, the overcrowded weekend of pro wrestling spawned one public relations disaster after another.
A Baffling Press Run
In February, we opined that there was a growing shift in momentum between All Elite Wrestling and WWE to start the year. That narrowing gap in the quality of shows and perception couldn't have been more evident last week as the former delivered the best episode of Dynamite in 2025.
This came off the heels of Nick Khan's latest appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, where he lobbed a handful of trivial and misleading shots at the distinguished competition. The president of WWE clearly didn't forget some of the unsavory jabs Tony Khan threw at him in 2021, and he took the opportunity to return the favor.
There's nothing wrong with a little competitive banter, but it didn't come off well because it felt like Khan was punching down while claiming to be the underdog. His claim that WWE doesn’t "sign and bench people" also rang hollow when The Street Profits had to answer an awkward question the next day about why they weren't on the card for WrestleMania during their interview on It Is What It Is.
Roman Reigns' quote from his Vanity Fair interview also rubbed many fans the wrong way. It was jarring to see its top star attempt to tow the company line in support of such a divisive U.S. president when the WWE has avoided political discourse in the past.
Many of us are looking for an escape from the turbulent climate following the 2024 presidential election in pro wrestling. This was a stark reminder that WWE's ties to the current regime are unavoidable at times.
Paul Heyman's deportation joke from Monday morning's appearance on The Pat McAfee Show also didn't read well days after the company acquired the preeminent lucha libre promotion, AAA. That's not to mention the inevitable can of worms stemming from The Roast of WrestleMania hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe.
An Abysmal Main Event and Confounding Response
If all that bad press wasn't enough, WrestleMania 41 ended on such a sour note. Somehow, WWE managed to undercook a generational heel turn that most of us were interested in and churned out one of the worst main events in the history of The Show of Shows.
Rhodes vs. John Cena was astonishingly bad. This wasn't a fitting end to The American Nightmare's 378-day reign or a memorable start to Cena's record-breaking 17th world title win. It was an overwrought mess that left many fans scratching their heads in confusion.
Nevertheless, it wasn't all bad because Cena's Farewell Tour still has so much potential, and the two-night event undeniably had its bright spots. Frankly, Iyo Sky, Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley stole the show on Sunday.
Sky's successful title defense quietly became the feel-good moment of the weekend thanks to the reactions from her peers and the poignant clip of her parents crying in the stands. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns also delivered after an inconsistent build.
The closing stretch of the main event of Night 1 was tremendous, and it set up even more interesting developments for Raw after 'Mania. Aligning Heyman with Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker was a pleasant surprise, and we can’t wait to see how this plays out.
However, The Rock's appearance on The Pat McAfee Show added one last bombshell to a strange week for WWE. During the surprise interview, he seemingly washed his hands of the result of his storyline with Rhodes and put the onus on Triple H and the creative team.
This kind of felt like a bait and switch because many viewers expected The Final Boss to appear at Allegiant Stadium to advance this story. After all, we haven't seen him since Cena turned heel at Elimination Chamber on March 1.
If you read between the lines, The Rock has been essentially telling us he wouldn't be available for The Showcase of the Immortals since the debut episode of Raw on Netflix. The issue is that he also continued to be ambiguous enough to give fans a glimmer of hope that he could show up.
Showing up after the fact to tell us the story didn't need him anymore, and that he only did the angle at Elimination Chamber to boost ticket sales, was such a confounding choice. It's corporate doublespeak that merely added salt to a wound that WWE was trying to heal.
More to the point, this unexpected interview added credence to the belief that he and Triple H aren't on the same page. There's enough drama here to draft another season of Succession, and it's hard to see it as a positive sign for the rest of the year.
We predicted WrestleMania 41 would propel WWE out of a slow start, but the last week has offered more questions than answers.