Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Strowman Disses Heyman After Promo on Reigns
Former WWE Superstar Braun Strowman took to X on Monday night to challenge a comment Paul Heyman made about Roman Reigns.
During the opening segment of Raw, Reigns was confronted by Heyman and Bronson Reed. During Heyman’s promo, he said Reigns had never been taken out on a stretcher before Clash in Paris when Reed and Bron Breakker viciously attacked him.
Strowman begged to differ, posting photos of Reigns being placed on a stretcher after being thrown off a loading dock by Strowman during their feud in 2017:
The former WWE universal champion also referred to Heyman as “Oswald Cobblepot,” which is the real name of the character known as The Penguin in Batman.
Strowman and Reigns had some memorable battles over the year, and when Strowman was being built into the most dominant heel on the roster, having him put Reigns out of commission was an obvious way to put him over.
Even aside from Strowman, Reigns has been stretchered out on other occasions during his career as well, so Heyman’s comments clearly weren’t an accurate depiction of The Tribal Chief’s career.
However, it is common in WWE and other wrestling companies to use hyperbole in order to present the wrestlers in a favorable light.
While inaccurate, Heyman’s promo made Reigns sound almost indestructible and made Reed sound like the one guy capable of breaking that barrier of invincibility.
Things will come to a head Saturday in Reed’s home country of Australia when Reigns and Reed face off in an Australian Street Fight at Crown Jewel.
Reported Reason for Escobar’s WWE Departure
New details have emerged regarding Santos Escobar’s reported departure from WWE after six years with the company.
PWInsider.com (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) reported that Escobar’s WWE contract was set to expire at midnight ET on Tuesday morning, meaning he is now a free agent.
In a subsequent report, PWInsider.com (h/t Carrier) noted that Escobar had concerns about how he would be utilized moving forward, which is largely why he turned down an offer to sign a new contract.
Escobar reportedly wasn’t as worried as much about the money or a guaranteed push as much as he was WWE having a plan for how to use him.
The former Legado del Fantasma leader reportedly feared “spinning his wheels” in the event of signing a new, long-term deal with WWE.
With Escobar hitting free agency, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) reported that multiple people in WWE expect him to sign with AEW.
Escobar, who previously wrestled under names El Hijo del Fantasma and King Cuerno, signed with WWE in 2019 and won the Cruiserweight Championship the following year.
In 2021, Escobar and the Legado del Fantasma stable got called up to the main roster, but they struggled to gain a foothold or achieve much success.
Escobar ended up joining the LWO led by Rey Mysterio before turning on Mysterio. That led to the biggest match of his WWE career when he and Dominik Mysterio lost to Rey and Andrade at WrestleMania XL.
After that, Escobar’s in-ring role diminished, and he served in more of a managerial role behind Angel and Berto, which may have contributed to the concerns that resulted in Escobar reportedly leaving WWE.
WWE’s Reported Philosophy on Booking Babyfaces
The presentation of CM Punk, LA Knight and Jey Uso on Raw as of late is reportedly the result of WWE’s new philosophy on how to present babyface wrestlers.
According to Meltzer (h/t Upton), WWE decision-makers “don’t believe in clean babyfaces anymore,” and the belief is that they need to have an “edge” in order to resonate with fans in the current pro wrestling landscape.
On Monday night’s episode of Raw, Punk cut a promo about his recent win at Wrestlepalooza, which saw him and his wife, AJ Lee, beat world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch in a tag team match.
Punk made his World Heavyweight Championship ambitions clear only to get interrupted by Knight. Jey went on to interrupt both of them as well with all three competitors expressing their desire to become world heavyweight champion.
Rather than having the three popular babyfaces make nice with each other, they were booked to be in direct conflict due to their aspirations for championship gold.
There have been times in WWE history where faces were booked to be buddies even when it didn’t particularly make sense, but the tension between Punk, Knight and Jey feels much more realistic.
It isn’t yet clear where this storyline is headed, but given that Rollins already beat all three of them in a Fatal 4-Way at Clash in Paris, it is probably be safe to assume that there will be a No. 1 contender’s match that results in one of them emerging as Rollins’ next opponent.
