Raw women’s champion Becky Lynch spoke about the “tough day” across WWE Wednesday on Twitter:
While WWE has continued to produce events despite the coronavirus pandemic, the organization announced the release of several notable competitors, including Kurt Angle, Rusev, Drake Maverick and Lio Rush.
Mike Chioda was also part of the release despite being the longest-tenured referee in WWE history, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN.
The drastic moves came after WWE was considered “essential business” and allowed to remain open in Florida by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, via ESPN.
The organization has filmed shows at the WWE Performance Center without fans, including WrestleMania 36, which was displayed on tape earlier this month.
Lynch remains a key part of the roster, but COVID-19 has affected her life in another way.
Her planned wedding to Seth Rollins was postponed due to the pandemic, she told Graham McGrath of Extra.ie.
Triple H responds to Ronda Rousey calling WWE fans “ungrateful”
Earlier this month Ronda Rousey caused controversy by labelling WWE fans “ungrateful” while discussing her run in the company.
Rousey, who last wrestled at WrestleMania 35, told Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast that she would rather be spending her time at home with her family than performing for “a bunch of f**king ungrateful fans that don’t even appreciate me”.
“I love performing, I love the girls, I love being out there. But, at the end of the day, I was just like, ‘f**k these fans, dude’,” she also said. “My family loves me and they appreciate me, and I want all my energy to go into them. So that was my decision.”
While Rousey’s comments received instant backlash from WWE fans and Superstars alike, WWE legend and executive vice president of global talent strategy and development Triple H, hinted that Rousey got exactly the reaction she was looking for.
“Ronda is an expert at pushing buttons,” Triple H told CBS Sports.
“It’s a funny thing, when you promote the fight, whether boxing or MMA, part of your job is the fight and the other part is to promote fights.
“The question for people is, is she promoting or are these her true feelings? I think that is where the rub comes in for most people. I think that’s what makes this intriguing.
“Is this the real Ronda Rousey? Is this the Ronda Rousey she wants you to see? Is this Ronda manipulating people? Or is this just Ronda being Ronda?” he continued.
“The world needs to wait and see and find out – I need to wait and see and find out. I’m just as intrigued as everybody else. So, time will tell.”
And if Rousey does want to come back to WWE, she already has a challenge waiting for her from Nia Jax.
Earlier this week Jax called out Rousey on Twitter, using a video of herself executing a particularly dangerous looking spot on Kari Sane during Raw.
Nia captioned the clip: “Since @KairiSaneWWE can’t [do] anything about it, maybe @RondaRousey would like to try #Samoan4Real.”
