Vince McMahon

The Undertaker announced his retirement in June during WWE Network's The Last Ride documentary. 

But during an appearance on the My Mom's Basement podcast (h/t Geno Mrosko of CagesideSeats.com), he left open the slightest possibility that he could return at some point, along with revealing that Vince McMahon tweaked the final 15 minutes of the documentary: 

"It was in my thought process. I have a whole group of people who are like, 'You can go out and do this, people will go crazy.' On the inside, I'm thinking, 'I don't move the way I used to move, it's a watered down version.' I also love this business so much and love performing. It's almost like I needed somebody to put the bullet in there and stop. Once we started rolling with this, it was in the back of my mind, 'I can get to a point where this will solidify it and I won't have a choice.' Originally, that's where I was at until I had to send the last 15 minutes to the chairman [Vince McMahon]. He didn't like the ending at all. That's where we put the line back in there, 'Never say never.' I'm coming to grips with it. Obviously, as we get close to [WrestleMania], I'll have that internal feeling like I should be getting ready for something." 

Here's the segment he was referencing, when he said on The Last Ride he had "no desire to get back in the ring" after initially offering his "never say never" quote on a potential return:

The 55-year-old Mark Calaway, better known for his WWE pseudonym The Undertaker, joined WWE (then the WWF) in 1990. In his Hall of Fame career, he was a seven-time world heavyweight champion and most famous for his streak of 21 straight victories at WrestleMania before Brock Lesnar ended it at WrestleMania 30 in 2014.

He finished his career with a 25-2 record at WrestleMania, also losing to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33 in 2017.

As for whether he could actually return, Triple H said in June he thought The Undertaker would come back at some point, if only to go out in front of the fans in an arena, which he didn't get the chance to do at the Boneyard Match (h/t Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post): 

"It's hard for me to say when somebody like him puts it down because I feel like the dragon is always in front of him one way or another and he's always gonna look to do it. I think it would be hard for him to end on some kind of theatrical piece like that because of what you said, the emotionality of it.

"We finished the last shot and then we're like, 'Alright, I think we got some good stuff let's go home.' There weren't 80,000 or 100,000 people standing up going crazy and you getting to stand on the top of that stage and get to have that one last moment. It's not the closure you're looking for."

Only The Deadman knows for sure whether he'll seek that closure in front of a packed house.

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.

Jericho Still Talks to Vince, Others in WWE

Even though Chris Jericho is one of the biggest faces of WWE's chief rival, All Elite Wrestling, he left on good terms and remains in contact with several people in the locker room—including CEO Vince McMahon.

"I haven't been speaking to a lot of people, but not for any other reason than the fact that we're all busy doing our things, going in our own directions," Jericho said on his Saturday Night Special (h/t Sai Mohan of Wrestling Inc). He continued:

"I still talk to Kevin Owens, Drake Maverick and Samoa Joe. I speak to Edge once in a while. I also text Seth Rollins once in a while.

"I also talk to Vince from time to time. But do I talk to WWE guys on a daily basis? Definitely not. We're all busy people, on different planes, flying to different parts of the world. I still have much respect and love for all of them there."

Anyone else picturing Vince texting Jericho after his Mimosa Mayhem match to say "that was such good s--t?"

It's no surprise that Jericho would still have a relationship with guys in WWE; he was there for nearly two decades and is one of the greatest wrestlers the sport has ever seen. Even if he's a rival, he still watches the product, and guys likely reach out to him for his advice or thoughts on their segments.

Sasha to Return Friday on SmackDown

If you thought Bayley's beatdown of Sasha Banks would keep her off television for a few weeks, think again. Banks will be back on Friday's SmackDown after a one-week absence to address Bayley's attack. The announcement was made during Fox's NFL coverage Sunday.

It will be interesting to see how they handle the promo, though this feels like a bit of a rush job. Bayley is already set to defend the SmackDown Women's Championship against Nikki Cross at Clash of Champions on Sept. 27. This would have been a perfect opportunity to let Banks take a couple weeks off, giving Bayley further rub for the attack and potentially set up some sort of payback at Clash of Champions.

We'll have to see what Sasha says Friday, but unless the match between Bayley and Cross is turning into a Triple Threat, it's hard to see the benefit in her returning so soon.

Rock's Daughter to Have Knee Surgery

Simone Johnson, the daughter of The Rock and NXT signee, announced she will be having knee surgery in a tweet Sunday.

No timetable has been set for her return. Nor is there any word on the severity of her injury. Johnson has yet to make her NXT debut and has been training at the WWE Performance Center since signing with the company in February.

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Heath Talks WWE Stars Wanting to Go to Impact

Former WWE Superstar Heath Slater, who goes by the name Heath in Impact Wrestling, said Monday that current WWE Superstars have expressed interest in joining him in Impact.

In an interview with Scott Fishman of TV Insider, Heath mentioned discussions he has had with some people in WWE: "The WWE crew, some of them have been like, 'Man, that would be awesome to do this, but I still got a year-and-a-half or another year.' I'm like, 'Remember what you're saying because years go by pretty fast. So, if you really want to, I might know a guy.' The interest is there for sure."

Heath was one of many Superstars released by WWE in April as a cost-cutting measure amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was one of the longest-tenured performers let go by WWE, as he was on the main roster for a decade and first signed a developmental contract with the company back in 2006.

While Heath has landed on his feet in Impact, several of the other performers released by WWE in April have yet to sign elsewhere.

Heath noted that Curtis Axel is one former WWE star who he would like to see in Impact at some point, but he added that Axel is "doing his thing" for now.

Impact received an infusion of talent following the WWE releases, as Heath, Eric Young, Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins), Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Deonna Purrazzo are among the WWE releases who have since signed with the company.

There is still plenty of talent to be had on the free-agent market, and with Heath talking up Impact publicly, perhaps some performers who are still with WWE could make the move to Impact as well once their contracts expire.

RVD Compliments Vince McMahon

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has the reputation of being a tough person to work with and has made his fair share of enemies over the years, but Rob Van Dam isn't among them.

The 49-year-old RVD currently works for Impact Wrestling, but in an interview with WrestlingInc.com's Nick Hausman, he heaped praise on McMahon: "He's always just been super cool to me. I know that other people see different sides of him, just like with anybody, but I got nothing but respect for him and no stories of him ever being an assh--e to me or around me."

Van Dam first rose to stardom in ECW in the mid-to-late 1990s before signing with WWE in 2001. RVD went on to accomplish a great deal in WWE, winning the WWE Championship, ECW Championship, Intercontinental Championship, European Championship, Hardcore Championship, Tag Team Championship and Money in the Bank.

RVD even held the WWE and ECW titles simultaneously in 2006, but he was forced to relinquish them after he and Sabu were pulled over by police with marijuana in their car.

Van Dam dropped the titles and was suspended 30 days by WWE, but he said McMahon "couldn't have been cooler" for the way he handled things.

RVD departed WWE in 2007 but returned for a brief run in 2013. Van Dam is back in Impact, but he is seemingly in good standing with WWE, meaning another return could still be a possibility at some point.

Bischoff Discusses Styles

Eric Bischoff has essentially seen and done it all in the wrestling business, and he has worked with some of the biggest stars in the industry.

During the former WCW president's run with TNA from 2010-14, AJ Styles was arguably TNA's biggest "homegrown" star who didn't work for WWE previously.

On his 83 Weeks podcast (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Austin Lee), Bischoff expressed his belief that while Styles was talented, he wasn't actually a big star in TNA:

"Outside of the TNA and the core audience they had at that time, not a lot of people knew AJ Styles. I think he still fell into that much younger developing category even though he was heads and tails above so many others. He had been in the business for eight years. He wasn't really a big draw outside of the TNA core audience because he hadn't had the exposure, not because he wasn't good enough. Clearly we see that now in WWE; he's one of the top talents in WWE in my opinion, but back then, he didn't really exist in the mind of a lot of audiences outside of the bubble."

Styles was the proverbial big fish in a small pond in TNA, and it wasn't until he left the company in 2014 that he truly became a worldwide star.

AJ signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and became the IWGP Heavyweight champion twice, which led to him signing with WWE in 2016.

The Phenomenal One is already a two-time WWE champion, one-time Intercontinental champion and three-time United States champion, and he always finds himself in important angles and matches as part of the WWE roster.

AJ has truly come into his own over the past several years and realized the immense potential he always displayed on a smaller scale in TNA.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Rey Mysterio Injury Update

Sunday's Payback event was an emotional night for Rey Mysterio, who earned a win in a tag team match with his son Dominik against Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy. 

WWE.com announced Monday that Mysterio suffered a torn triceps during the match. 

Per Dave Meltzer of WrestlingObserver.com, the injury is legitimate, but "as of right now, it is not thought to be as serious as a full tear that would require surgery."

Meltzer noted Mysterio could miss two months "or maybe less" and won't need surgery to repair the injury. 

This is good news for the 45-year-old and WWE. He is an important part of the ongoing storyline between Rollins and Dominik. The Ultimate Underdog was defeated by Rollins at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules in July, setting up the one-one-one showdown between Rollins and Dominik at SummerSlam. 

Dominik scored the biggest win of his young career by pinning Murphy in Sunday's tag match. He's shown tremendous poise and talent for a 23-year-old who is still new to WWE. 

Being able to keep Rey around Dominik until he's able to get back in the ring will go a long way toward helping the youngster get over as a top star by the end of the feud with Rollins. 

McIntyre Responds to Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury hasn't been seen on WWE television since Crown Jewel last October, but the heavyweight boxing champion appears to be teasing a bout with Drew McIntyre. 

After Fury posted a video challenging McIntyre, the WWE champion offered a response on Twitter:

Before McIntyre can think about Fury, he has to get past Randy Orton at Night of Champions on September 27. The Scottish Superstar has been fantastic as WWE champion since winning the title from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, but things seem to be set up for him to drop it at the next pay-per-view. 

Orton is coming off two straight losses on pay-per-view, including to McIntyre at SummerSlam. The way WWE booking works would seem to indicate The Viper will get his win back. 

Assuming Fury's video is a tease for the future, it will be interesting to see when WWE tries to bring him back into the fold. It seems unlikely there will be another show in Saudi Arabia until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

A Fury-McIntyre match would be big enough to put on WrestleMania, but having one of the company's top stars lose to an outsider doesn't seem like it would do anyone any favors. 

As long as WWE can put together a good storyline for the match, the finish won't be as important as the buildup since it would be a money-drawing fight between two giants. 

Eric Young Talks Vince McMahon

Eric Young is currently in his second run with Impact Wrestling after being released from WWE in April. 

After spending four years in WWE, Young had a lot to say about Vince McMahon's inability to book him during that time. 

Young discussed the WWE chairman during an appearance on the Shining Wizards Podcast (h/t Jason Ounpraseuth of Wrestling Inc):

"I've said this before, and I'm sure you guys have read it. Vince McMahon failed. He's a super genius. Wrestling exists the way it exists because of him. I live in this house and have this life because of what he's done. He's got way more wins than he has losses. I am not the first person he made a mistake on. I will not be the last. But if you have a three-hour television show, Monday Night RAW, and you can't find five minutes for me to do something, then you failed as a promoter. You failed as a booker, and trust me, nothing is written, and nothing goes on the show without his approval. It's all him."

Young has frequently been critical of McMahon, including telling The Chris Van Vliet Show in July that WWE is a "broken system" where it's "impossible to be creative."

WWE signed Young in 2016 after he spent 12 years with Total Nonstop Action (now known as Impact Wrestling). He worked in NXT as a member of SAnitY for more than one year before the group was drafted to SmackDown in April 2018. 

Young and SAnitY regularly worked the blue brand for one year before he got drafted to Raw as a singles performer. The 40-year-old fell off the map after the move prior to his release. 

Since everything in WWE goes through McMahon, he has to believe in someone for them to get anything resembling a push. That has led to a lot of start-and-stop pushes in recent years for many talented performers, including Young. 

For whatever reason, McMahon never found a way to make Young work on the WWE roster. It doesn't seem to have hurt him, as he competed in the five-way elimination match for the Impact world title at Slammiversary in July in his return match. 

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe. 

McMahon Reportedly Makes Late Changes to Raw

Monday's newsworthy episode of Raw was reportedly still undergoing script changes even after the show started.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Joshua Gagnon), WWE Chairman Vince McMahon made "numerous changes" to the Raw script Monday, and it wasn't finalized until 9 p.m. ET, which was one hour after the show started.

Monday's Raw was an important show since it occurred one night after SummerSlam and was also the go-home edition of Raw prior to Sunday's Payback pay-per-view.

Overall, WWE seemingly did a solid job of balancing the fallout from SummerSlam and building up some matches for Payback.

WWE set the stage for a future rematch between WWE champion Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton, and also booked a match between Orton and the debuting Keith Lee for Payback, as Lee interjected himself into the McIntyre vs. Orton rivalry.

Additionally, Sasha Banks lost her Raw Women's Championship rematch against Asuka, and a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match pitting Banks and Bayley against the newly formed team of Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax was booked for Payback.

Meltzer noted that all of the Payback matches made on Raw were decided ahead of time, so while it is difficult to say what was changed from the original script and what wasn't, Raw was fairly effective overall.

Plans for Reigns After Return at SummerSlam

After five months away due to the coronavirus pandemic, Roman Reigns made his shocking return to WWE after the main event at SummerSlam.

Reigns took out both Braun Strowman and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt with spears after The Fiend beat Strowman to become the new Universal champion.

According to Meltzer (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE is likely looking to move forward with a singles feud between Reigns and Wyatt since that was the original plan for WrestleMania 36 before it splintered into Reigns vs. Goldberg and Wyatt vs. John Cena.

Reigns vs. Goldberg never happened since The Big Dog stepped away, which resulted in Strowman taking his place and beating Goldberg for the Universal title.

On Monday's Raw, it was announced that The Fiend will defend the Universal Championship against Reigns and Strowman in a Triple Threat match at Payback. The contract signing for that match will occur Friday on SmackDown.

Conventional wisdom suggests that Wyatt may pin or submit Strowman in the match to retain, which would give Reigns a gripe to receive a one-on-one rematch against The Fiend.

Reigns and Wyatt have a long history as opponents, but a feud between them now would be different than any before it, as Reigns seemingly has a new attitude and Wyatt has a compelling character in The Fiend.

Reported Reason for Black's Heel Turn

A few weeks after getting his eye injured by Seth Rollins and Murphy, Aleister Black made his return to WWE programming on Monday's episode of Raw as a guest on the Kevin Owens Show.

Black was wearing a wrap around his eye didn't seem to be acting himself. After Owens showed footage of Black getting injured at the behest of Black himself, he took KO out with Black Mass.

According to Meltzer (h/t Upton), the turn was done since Owens needs an opponent. The original plan was for Owens to feud with Rollins again, but with Rey Mysterio re-signing with WWE, there was no place for Owens in that program.

While the Rollins vs. Owens feud had some high points, including the match at WrestleMania 36, going back to the well at this point wouldn't have made much sense.

Black vs. Owens is far more compelling since it has never been done and Black hasn't yet been a heel on the main roster.

Since Black and Owens are two of the best all-around talents WWE has to offer, it stands to reason that they'll deliver both in terms of promos and in-ring work in the coming weeks.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

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Cody Shoots Down Goldberg-AEW Rumor

AEW Executive Vice President Cody has denied a rumor that AEW spoke with Bill Goldberg about bringing him in before he re-signed with WWE.

Per Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net, Jim Cornette said on his Jim Cornette Experience podcast that Goldberg was "huge" on AEW President Tony Khan's want list because Khan wanted to replicate the winning streak storyline Goldberg did in WCW in the 1990s.

In response to a fan tweeting about it, Cody said AEW never contacted Goldberg:

Perhaps Cody is being truthful, but there is no question that AEW has shown interest in former WWE Superstars and wrestling legends in general.

As far as legends go, AEW has brought in the likes of Arn Anderson, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Tully Blanchard and Taz in managerial roles. Billy Gunn and Diamond Dallas Page also have some involvement in the company.

In terms of active wrestlers, Chris Jericho is a 49-year-old veteran who primarily made his name in WWE and WCW, much like the 53-year-old Goldberg did.

Perhaps sensing that AEW had Goldberg on its radar, WWE used Goldberg in two matches last year and two matches this year. He lost to The Undertaker at Super Showdown 2019 and then beat Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam 2019 before beating "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt for the Universal title at Super Showdown 2020 and then dropping it to Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 36.

During a recent appearance on The Pop Culture Show, Goldberg revealed that he is under contract with WWE for two more years and is scheduled to wrestle two matches per year.

That means there is no chance of Goldberg showing up in AEW any time soon, but perhaps that could change in 2022 when his WWE contract expires.

Myers Shoots on McMahon on Impact

Brian Myers, who worked in WWE as Curt Hawkins before his release in April, referenced his time in WWE during a promo on this week's Impact Wrestling.

As seen in the following video, Myers didn't hold back when it came to his thoughts on WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and his release from WWE:

"You've known me a while. Haven't I always played by the rules? Done everything I've been told? Listen to the veterans? Well, where did it get me in this business? Fired! With a wife that's six months pregnant sitting at home.

"I'm so sick of being referred to as somebody's 'good hand.' It disgusts me that major decisions in this business are being made by some out of touch 70-year-old man in some goofy production meeting. Not anymore. I'm taking my career and this business into my hands. You, and all of Impact Wrestling have been put on warning. I am the most professional wrestler, Brian Myers."

Myers has quickly made his presence felt since joining Impact, as he even challenged Eddie Edwards for the Impact Wrestling World Championship on a recent episode. Although he fell short, he pushed Edwards to the limit and showed that he could be a big-time player in the company.

During his time in WWE, Myers was best known for teaming with Zack Ryder, who now goes by Matt Cardona in AEW. Myers and Cardona were tag team champions together on two occasions in WWE, and they won the Raw Tag Team Championships from The Revival at WrestleMania 35 last year.

Myers never got much of an opportunity to prove his worth as a singles competitor in WWE, but that appears to be changing in Impact.

Bischoff Talks AEW Appearance Leaking

Former WCW and WWE executive Eric Bischoff, who made a surprise appearance AEW Dynamite a couple of weeks ago, discussed his thoughts on news of his appearance leaking beforehand.

On his podcast 83 Weeks (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Bischoff gave the following take:

"You have fans that are reading things that haven't even happened yet and determining how they feel about it. When I showed up in AEW a couple weeks ago, some fan, I hate to call him a fan cause you're not really a fan of the business when you do this type of thing because you're actually hurting the business.

"It didn't hurt me at all, but it hurt AEW. How much, how little? I don't know, but it's not healthy. Anybody that's a real fan of wrestling should probably forgive or understand why any promoter would do anything in their power to maintain the integrity of things that they felt were best for business, if they were kept secret."

AEW advertised a mystery moderator for a debate between Jericho and Orange Cassidy. Some viewers knew ahead of time that Bischoff was the mystery moderator, however, since some spoilers were published online beforehand.

Even so, Bischoff played his role well, and his appearance on Dynamite was a big deal because of his previous ties to WCW and WWE.

Spoilers have been a big issue in wrestling in recent years and have made it difficult for wrestling promotions to surprise their fans.

They weren't as prevalent in recent months with fans not being able to attend television tapings amid the coronavirus pandemic, but with AEW now allowing a limited amount of fans in the stands, it could continue to be a problem moving forward.  

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

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WWE Shares Post-Attack Footage of Ric Flair

To close out Raw on Monday night, Randy Orton punted WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. It was an act of retribution after Flair talked Kevin Owens into challenging Orton to a match on Raw.

WWE uploaded the aftermath of the attack, with Flair placed on a stretcher and wheeled backstage.

The Nature Boy's days as an in-ring competitor are long over, but Monday was an example of how he can still be effective in a limited role. His long history with Orton, dating back to their days in Evolution, only added to the emotional heft of The Viper slowly letting Flair slump to the mat before putting him away with a punt.

Orton is clearly willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in pursuit of Drew McIntyre's WWE Championship at SummerSlam.

Eric Bischoff Recounts Backstage Visit at AEW

Eric Bischoff made a brief appearance on AEW Dynamite last Wednesday, moderating a debate between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy.

On his podcast, 83 Weeks, Bischoff discussed visiting AEW and spoke highly of the promotion's atmosphere behind the scenes (h/t Wrestling Inc's Marco Rovere):

"When I went backstage at AEW, the first thing I noticed is wow, these guys are actually having fun trying to figure these things out. These guys are actually having fun trying to lay a match out in a way that not only entertains the audience but advances the story. You could tell, I could hear some of the conversations as I was walking by, these guys are working hard to get each other over, they're not just working hard to get themselves over which you have to do.

"When you get to that point, and you're coming at it with a frame of mind of how can I make my opponent look better than me and your opponent is looking to do the same thing, that's when the magic happens. I can't say enough good things about the talent, the energy backstage, the hospitality, the professionalism, it was really a great experience for me."

That probably represented a welcome contrast for Bischoff compared to his days in WCW, where the backstage drama was well documented.

MVP Comments on Vince McMahon's Attention to Detail

For better or worse, WWE's on-screen product largely remains the vision of one man: Vince McMahon.

Despite the fact that he'll turn 75 later this month, McMahon continues to be heavily involved with the promotion's biggest storylines.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated's Justin Barrasso, MVP called McMahon "very demanding" but said that has helped him learn more about the business:

"Coming back now, I understand what Vince wants and how he wants it. And Vince is a perfectionist. Good enough is not good enough for Vince. His influence has been huge. I'm a go-getter, and I want to be involved with the segments I'm in, and I want to make sure that I'm on the same page with the other talent so that your viewing experience on Monday Night Raw is the best that it can possibly can. Those are things I learned from Vince."

Sooner or later, McMahon will have to take a step back and let somebody else run the show. Until then, he isn't letting his age lower his expectations of his stars.

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.

Jericho Not Giving Up on Tyson Match

In May, Mike Tyson showed up on Dynamite to seemingly set up a match for September's All Out pay-per-view. That plan has apparently been scrapped. Tyson hasn't been mentioned on AEW in months, Jericho is deep in a feud with Orange Cassidy that will likely culminate at All Out, and Iron Mike is training for his boxing return against Roy Jones Jr.

That said, Jericho still believes the fight will happen. 

"That's the idea; we're not done yet," Jericho said on his Saturday Night Special series. "He had this fight with Roy Jones Jr. on September 12, which cut down any chances of a match with me on the 5th. Like I said, I get that it's a lot of money at stake, and that's fine. I'm not going anywhere. We have another PPV in November, and we'll see what happens. I'm ready to kick his ass at any point of time.

"I'm not scared of him. I'll tell you that right now. People think I'm crazy; it's because I am."

Tyson's fight has been pushed back to Nov. 28, so it's likely Jericho and AEW will be waiting even longer—if the match ever happens.

While the match would give AEW a pop in pay-per-view buys, the quality of Tyson-Jericho would probably be lacking. Tyson is a 54-year-old who has never wrestled in an organized pro wrestling match; it may be best for all involved to leave that storyline in the past.

Vince Praises Bayley's Heel Work

Bayley has been SmackDown women's champion for more than 300 days, so it's safe to say Vince McMahon likes the direction of her character.

Apparently that's one of the select few things he likes about the current WWE product.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported McMahon has been slashing the scripts for Raw and SmackDown of late, writing his own storylines and leaving writers scrambling.

In a recent writers' meeting, Bayley's recent heel work received praise from McMahon, who "talked forever about how much he loves Bayley and her new persona." 

Dexter Lumis' Ankle Injury Is Legitimate

It turns out Dexter Lumis' impressive front flip out of the ring in his triple threat match with Finn Balor and Timothy Thatcher will cost him significant time.

Bryan Alvarez noted on F4Wonline.com the ankle injury WWE announced, which will keep him out of the North American championship ladder match at TakeOver XXX, is legitimate. It's unclear how long Lumis will be out of action, but it's a disappointing blow for a guy who was ascending to the top of the NXT card.