WWE & AEW Rumors: Shane McMahon And AEW, Plus The Rock's SmackDown Plans

News on Thursday that The Rock would be at SmackDown Friday night surprised everyone, including people in WWE. According to reports, this was a "last-minute" decision. As per WrestleVotes, "Tonight’s SmackDown plans have been reworked following the announcement of The Rock’s appearance. There are rumblings that both Naomi vs. Liv Morgan and the six-man tag featuring Cody, Priest & Strowman vs. Solo, Jacob & Tama Tonga are off. Drew McIntyre vs Jimmy Uso is still scheduled to take place." The account also noted that all signs heading into the show is that The Rock is officially announcing that WrestleMania 42 is coming to New Orleans next year.

As for whether there are storyline implications linked to his appearance, fans will find out on during the show. It was teased that anything could happen tonight.

Vince McMahon's Wild Ronda Rousey Idea

Beating Everyone At The Royal Rumble

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, "One of Vince McMahon's pitches for the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble was to have Ronda Rousey come back and eliminate the entire field." It sounds like he toyed with the idea of having her enter at No. 1, throw out everyone, and win. It would have made her the most dominant female in history, but probably would have made for the most boring Royal Rumble ever.

The fact Rousey left WWE not long after this shows that it was probably wise not to have gone this direction with the booking.

Shane McMahon’s AEW Overture Rejected by Tony Khan

McMahon Wanted A Piece Of AEW

A new report suggests that Shane McMahon attempted to secure a role in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), but Tony Khan ultimately turned him down. According to Fightful Select, sources close to McMahon wouldn’t confirm whether he specifically asked for equity in AEW but admitted that he hoped to take on a significant leadership role despite limited knowledge of the product. The report notes that AEW was aware McMahon didn’t have the product knowledge to run anything and, honestly thought he was joking.

Meanwhile, During The Coach & Bro show, Jonathan Coachman claimed that McMahon directly asked Khan for equity in AEW and expressed a desire to run the entire company. However, Khan reportedly “ghosted” McMahon after the meeting.

Whatever the real story is behind their meeting, Khan has never publicly spoken negatively about McMahon. Some people suggest Khan is too nice for the business and is taken advantage of by his talent, but being able to say no to Shane would be considered a situation where he didn't crater to pressure to give up any control in his company. It might have been easy to say yes to a member of the McMahon family.

Elias (Elijah) Has Signed With TNA

Will He Appear In WWE Again?

Fightful reports that Elijah (fka WWE’s Elias) has signed a deal with TNA Wrestling. It seems natural to assume that this could lead him to make future appearances in WWE. Considering the crossover between the two companies and the logical fit that it would be to work him into a storyline, there may not be plans to do so now, but fans shouldn't rule it out.

Rumors that he had reportedly signed with AEW/ROH were clearly inaccurate. It's understandable why fans made the connection after he posted a video with AEW’s Vincent and Dutch, naming their faction... THE RIGHTEOUS ONES.