With at least a year and a half left on their current media rights deal, and the Paramount/Warner Brothers Discovery merger still not yet closed, it’s too soon to have any idea on what will happen when AEW negotiates their next media rights deal in the next few years. But according to Dave Meltzer, some within WWE are already suggesting things could go bad for their competitor, with Meltzer reporting on Friday that WWE higher ups were openly telling people they didn’t expect Paramount to extend AEW.

Despite reporting it, Meltzer remains skeptical about that actually being true, and doubled down on his skepticism during the latest edition of “Wrestling Observer Radio.” Not only does Meltzer believe it’s too soon to tell, but he noted that WWE had previously claimed things about AEW’s media rights that later proved to be untrue.

“I don’t know how great there is, but there’s certainly talk among people there [in WWE] that ‘They’re [AEW] not going to get the deal, and you can’t…don’t bank on going there because they’re…whatever,'” Meltzer said. “Which is the usual bulls**t. It started with week one, literally week one, when the talent in WWE was being told that ‘Tony bought all the tickets and distributed them for free.’ Week one. You remember those stories, Tony bought all the tickets. So that’s how it starts. 

“And then it’s that way all the time, that whole thing of ‘They’re going to die. They’re going to die. They’re going to die.’ It’s telling people ‘Don’t leave. Don’t leave because if you’re here, we’re going to be here forever. And if you leave…’ you know again, I get people from there going ‘Do you think Tony’s going to be around in a couple of years?’ And I go ‘Yeah.’ Do I know that they’re going to get renewed? No. Do I think that the company is going to be around? Yeah. Yeah, they’re going to be around.”

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Randy Orton hasn’t been seen on WWE television since losing to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42, and over the weekend a new report emerged about his health status. On Saturday, Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that Orton has been dealing with a significant back injury, claiming it’s the reason he didn’t defeat Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania as he required time off to recover. However, Orton provided an update on his absence the following day after the report, taking to social media to shut down the severity of the rumors regarding a potential injury.

“Lmao just milking it guys, leave me alone I’m trying to enjoy my summer before I come back and take that #15”

Lmao just milking it guys, leave me alone I’m trying to enjoy my summer before I come back and take that #15 https://t.co/dG49ObenGJ

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) May 17, 2026

At this time, it remains to be seen if Orton is legitimately hurt with the injury not being as serious as initially expected, or if “The Viper” just wanted time off after WrestleMania. For years, Orton has dealt with many back issues, with one particular injury keeping him out of action for 18 months before his iconic return at Survivor Series 2023. Last week, Orton was also advertised for the May 29 episode of “WWE SmackDown,” which will take place in Barcelona, Spain ahead of Clash in Italy two days later. 

Additionally, Orton will not be joined by Pat McAfee upon his return, as the former NFL punter was originally revealed to be the “Legend Killer’s” mystery ally ahead of WrestleMania, but promised to leave professional wrestling forever if Orton lost to Rhodes.

Stephanie Vaquer has had a rough few weeks. She lost the WWE Women’s World Championship to Liv Morgan at WrestleMania 42. Vaquer hasn’t been seen on WWE television since she was taken out by Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez on the April 27 edition of “Raw”. The angle was to write her off TV due to suffering a legitimate injury with a second degree high ankle sprain.

There were conflicting reports on how long “La Primera” would be out of action. Some had hoped she’d be back before SummerSlam while another timeline was six weeks. It looks like she could be back even sooner. According to PWI Insider Elite, Vaquer is expected to be back in the mix by Clash in Italy weekend. She could potentially be on “Raw” tonight, but they haven’t heard if she is in town yet.

This is the first time that Vaquer has missed time in WWE due to injury since she signed in 2024. She was Women’s World Champion for 210 days going into WrestleMania 42 after winning the vacant title in September 2025. In “NXT”, Vaquer held both the NXT Women’s North American Championship and the Women’s Championship.

During Corbin’s first run with WWE, there was no doubt that fans could recognize his ability to be a great heel and a reliable in-ring performer on a weekly basis, but he was often positioned in storylines that his character felt undeserving of being in. Whether it was main eventing major shows with Seth Rollins for the world title or constantly wrestling Roman Reigns, Corbin was placed in high-profile feuds that many felt should’ve been given to other main event talent. Additionally, it was no secret that former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon liked Corbin considering how much TV time he was given, but under Triple H’s regime, a second run could be beneficial for the 41-year-old.

Although Corbin didn’t enjoy much main roster success when McMahon left the company, he did return to “WWE NXT” for a year where he was used to elevate talent. Along with forming The Wolfdogs with Bron Breakker, Corbin put over younger stars like Ilja Dragunov, Carmelo Hayes and Lexis King during his time in “NXT.” If Corbin were to rejoin WWE in the near future, his return could be beneficial if given a similar role to his previous “NXT” run but on the main roster, especially with many from the developmental brand having recently been called up to either “WWE Raw” or “WWE SmackDown.”

So long as Corbin isn’t immediately inserted into world title feuds or major storylines after returning, the former United States Champion could excel in WWE today, especially with his ability to consistently adapt to whatever role he’s given.

After being out of sight and out of mind essentially since his release from WWE in early 2025, Fabian Aichner was back in the news last week, as the former Giovanni Vinci showed up in TNA to confront new X Division Champion Cedric Alexander. In doing so, Aichner accidentally kicked off a firestorm, with fans taking to social media to discuss a rumor that he had attempted to flirt with former WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton while she was in a relationship with Aichner’s Imperium stablemate Ludvig Kaiser.

It didn’t take long for that rumor to make its way to Stratton herself. Over the weekend, Stratton went live on her Twitch channel, and in the process discussed, and refuted, several online rumors related to her. And the rumor regarding her and Aichner was among the stories she offered her strongest denial towards.

“That may be the craziest one I’ve ever heard,” Stratton said. “That did not happen, that is not true. There is no truth to that. I hope he’s doing amazing, I heard he just signed with TNA, and I think he’s gonna kill it. So absolutely no truth to that. That’s a [completely] false accusation.”

Neither Aichner nor Kaiser have acknowledged the rumors, let alone denied them. Both are likely too busy to do so; while Aichner is now set for a run in TNA, Kaiser is continuing to don the El Grande Americano mask as part of a long-running feud between American and El Grande Americano Original, portrayed by Chad Gable. The two Americanos are set to settle their differences at AAA Noche de los Grandes on May 30 in a mask vs. mask match.

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