WWE Rumor Roundup - Match idea pitched for The Rock, Released Superstar rejects offer to return, Backstage heat on former Champion and more - 15th August 2020

We welcome you all to another edition of Sportskeeda's daily WWE Rumor Roundup. We've got a few big stories to cover in today's edition, and we begin with one of the most prominent personalities in the world, The Rock.

A current Champion pitched an idea for a possible match against The Great One.

A recently released Superstar also confirmed that the WWE offered him a chance to return for a one-off appearance. The Superstar, however, turned down WWE's proposal.

Reportedly, there is significant backstage heat on a Superstar who recently returned to TV, and the latest details don't sound too good for his future in the company.

Shane McMahon is also reportedly a big fan of a Superstar who has not always been in the good books of Vince McMahon. A RAW Underground push could be the perfect way to utilize the Superstar.

We also look at a story about how Vince McMahon wanted a former Champion to look like Daniel Bryan.

As we mentioned earlier, today's lineup has some fascinating stuff!

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#5. Drew McIntyre reveals his idea for a match against The Rock in the WWE

Drew McIntyre was recently interviewed by The Glasgow Times and the WWE Champion opened up about the possibility of facing The Rock.

The Rock and McIntyre had an interesting exchange recently during the latter's WWE title feud against Dolph Ziggler.

When asked about the ideal scenario for a match against The Great One, McIntyre revealed that he would love to face the legendary WWE Superstar at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Scottish Superstar would prefer to have a WrestleMania in Scotland and the headliner to be a match versus The Rock for personal reasons.

"I thought, 'What would Rock do in this situation?' If this was 1998/99, what would he say? I thought, screw it. I'm the champion, I don't back down to anyone, even The Rock. My phone exploded. I'd love to face The Rock anywhere, but if there was one place on earth it would be a WrestleMania at Ibrox. That would be great for personal reasons. It would probably have to be Hampden, we'd need somewhere massive. If he chose to come back for a match, as the biggest Box Office attraction in the world, wow. Come on, Rock, give me that match."

#4. Erick Rowan reveals he turned down WWE's offer to return at Extreme Rules

Erick Rowan, now known as Erick Redbeard, was interviewed by Stephanie Chase on Sportskeeda's Instagram handle. During the live Q&A session, the recently released Superstar was asked about whether the WWE had approached him to be a part of the Wyatt Swamp Fight.

Erick Rowan responded by alluding to the fact that WWE did indeed give him a call. However, he couldn't fulfill the request as he was busy filming something else.

Here's what Erick Rowan revealed about turning down WWE's offer:

"There may have been a chance I was given a call, and there may have been a chance that I was busy filming. So yeah, there is a high probability that I just wasn't able to fill their request."

WWE did mention Erick Rowan's name during the build-up for the Wyatt Swamp Fight, and many fans saw it as a teaser of the former Wyatt Family member's return to WWE TV. However, as revealed by the man himself, he had to turn down the request.

Erick Rowan also opened up about another exciting story about a Vince McMahon demand.

#3. Vince McMahon wanted Erick Rowan to look like Daniel Bryan in WWE

During the recent interview with Sportskeeda's Stephanie Chase, Erick Rowan also revealed the time when Vince McMahon wanted him to look just like Daniel Bryan.

Erick Rowan was out of action for a while, and he was brought back as Daniel Bryan's sidekick in January 2019. Rowan revealed that he was told to wear plaid shirts that were similar to the ones Daniel Bryan used to wear.

Vince McMahon also wanted Erick Rowan to cut his beard in a bid to resemble Daniel Bryan's look. Dean Malenko, who worked as an agent in the WWE during that time, tried to get Rowan to trim his beard. However, Rowan insisted that he wanted to talk with Vince McMahon first and the plan to trim his beard was dropped.

Vince McMahon felt that the alliance with Daniel Bryan would not make Erick Rowan look like a background character, something that the two-time SmackDown Tag Team Champion was accustomed to being throughout his career. Rowan revealed the following:

"They had not used Brodie once the entire time that I was out. That's five to six months. That's crazy. Barely doing anything, nothing like house shows, nothing like TV. I thought maybe they are just waiting for me to get back. I get back, and I was told, 'Hey man, you are going to go to Rumble with Bryan.' I was like what? They were like, 'Yeah, you got a plaid shirt?' I go, 'What do you mean a plaid shirt?'. They go, 'He wears plaid so you should wear plaid.'

"I remember I had to have a meeting with Vince. They were this close to trimming my beard all the way down. I was told, 'He wants you to look like Bryan.' I was like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa.' I am remembering who it was, probably Malenko. He was grabbing me by the arm and trying to get me to get the cut. I was, 'No no, let me go talk to Vince and find out what he wants before we just start cutting.' We had the meeting, and it ended up not having to cut it. He said this was a good opportunity for me to not be a background character, which is exactly what it was again. I barely got to have any personality and barely got to talk. It's not fun to be the background character."

#2. Details of reported backstage heat on Velveteen Dream in WWE revealed

Velveteen Dream returned on the latest episode of NXT and turned heel at the end of the show.

The return marked Velveteen Dream's first appearance since being taken off TV a couple of months ago amidst allegations that were leveled against him as part of the #SpeakingOut movement.

In a new Fightful Select report, Sean Ross Sapp has now revealed more details on the reported backstage heat on the former North American Champion.

It was revealed that the news about Velveteen Dream's return to NXT was kept private backstage and most Superstars were only informed about the same moments before the show.

It was also revealed that there has always been a significant amount of backstage heat on Velveteen Dream, allegedly due to his behavioral issues and the fact that he gets 'preferential treatment' in various controversial situations. It was added that any other Superstar would have been fired if they had been in Dream's spot.

The heat has not died down, however, as WWE has failed to provide any update with regards to the potential disciplinary action that may have been taken against Dream.

Velveteen Dream, despite all the heat, is back on TV and he will face Finn Balor in a second-chance match on next week's edition of NXT and the winner will book his spot in the ladder match at NXT TakeOver: XXX to crown the new North American Champion.

#1. Shane McMahon is reportedly a huge fan of Shayna Baszler in WWE

Shayna Baszler became the first woman to compete on RAW Underground, and she made quick work of three female opponents on the last episode of WWE's flagship show.

Baszler was once earmarked to be the face of the women's division after Becky Lynch. However, her run on the main roster has sadly failed to hit the mark. Reports suggest that Vince McMahon isn't a fan of the former NXT Women's Champion as he doesn't understand what she brings to the table.

However, Shane McMahon is reportedly a very big fan of The Queen of Spades, as revealed by Tom Colohue on the latest edition of the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast.

Shane McMahon apparently saw a great chance to use Baszler and got her on RAW Underground, which could help rebuild her character in the weeks to follow. Here's what Tom revealed:

"Yes, there were a lot of changes to the RAW Women's title picture and the idea of Shayna Baszler being there is in and out. She has been very in and out of plans. But what I will say is that Shane McMahon is actually a very big fan of Baszler. So he saw a chance to use her, and I thought in that particular environment, he used her very well."