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Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly WWE news feature, where we take a look at some of the top stories that you might have missed from this past week.
RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch has been booked very strongly since her return last year at SummerSlam. However, she got squashed by a former champion in merely 12 seconds after this week's RAW went off the air. Speaking of former champions, Paige has shown off her new look, grabbing the attention of her fans in the process.
Nia Jax finally "spilled the tea" on her WWE release, and she revealed many things, including a surprising fact about her offering to take a pay-cut. Braun Strowman took to Twitter to send a message to Shane McMahon. Additionally, a WWE Hall of Famer has claimed that he would be willing to get into great shape to face Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
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With that said, let's take a look at five interesting WWE news stories from this past week that you might have missed. Be sure to comment down and let us know your thoughts and reactions on the same.
#5 Becky Lynch suffers an embarrassing 12-second loss
Becky Lynch didn't have a great night this past week on WWE RAW, especially after the show went off the air. The RAW Women's Champion was in the final segment of the show, where she confronted the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble winner, Ronda Rousey. WWE Hall of Famer Lita then confronted Lynch and challenged her to a title bout, which was made official for Elimination Chamber.
After RAW, Lynch was scheduled to face Bianca Belair in a dark match. Big Time Becks tried to escape, but she was forced into the ring by Lita. The EST of WWE then caught her opponent by surprise and executed a KOD to get the win in just 12 seconds. This was sweet revenge for Belair, who was squashed by Becky Lynch last year at SummerSlam in a similar manner.
#4 Paige shows off her new look
Former two-time Divas Champion Paige caught the attention of her fans by making a major change to her hair. She took to social media to share multiple pictures of videos of her new look after visiting popular makeup artist Zac Phoenix.
Paige was rumored to return in this year's Women's Royal Rumble match, so some fans were disappointed when she didn't appear. Though she was forced to retire from in-ring competition in 2018, the former champion has been teasing a return to the ring in recent years. Fans are hopeful to see the Anti-Diva wrestle again, but time will tell if and when that happens.
#3 Nia Jax claims she was released even after offering to take a pay cut
One of WWE's biggest releases last year was that of former RAW Women's Champion Nia Jax. She recently appeared on Renee Paquette's podcast to "spill the beans" about her WWE release. Jax revealed how John Laurinaitis called her to tell her about her release due to budget cuts, and she stated that she offered to take a pay cut.
“He was just like, ‘Hey, kid, I hate to do this,'" Jax recalled. "Instantly when he said that I was like, ‘Oh, am I getting released?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m so sorry. Due to budget cuts…’ you know the whole spiel. I was just like, ‘Oh, okay, well I’ll take a pay cut if that’s what’s needed,’ just because I knew it was a whole script.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, that’s not it."
Nia Jax was away from WWE television for quite some time before her release. She was on a break to deal with her mental health. It remains to be seen what the future holds for The Irresistible Force.
#2 Braun Strowman sends a message to Shane McMahon after the latter's WWE release
One of the most buzzworthy talking points of the past week was the way Shane McMahon was reportedly "let go" by WWE. Several reports then came out about McMahon having heat for trying to book the Men's Royal Rumble match around him.
Former Universal Champion Braun Strowman took to Instagram to send a message to the chairman's son following his release. Strowman seemingly invited McMahon to work with him by claiming that all he has to do is knock his doors open. Strowman and Shane faced each other at last year's WrestleMania 37 in a Steel Cage match, and The Monster Among Men emerged victorious
#1 Booker T claims a match against Roman Reigns could motivate him to get in his best shape
Universal Champion Roman Reigns is currently enjoying a historic 500+ day run with the title. He has faced and defeated several legends during his reign, including the likes of John Cena and Edge.
On a recent episode of the Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T claimed that a match against Roman Reigns could motivate him to get in the best shape that he possibly can.
"With Roman, I tell you, man, if I had the chance to get in the ring with anybody, anyone on the roster right now, it would be Roman, just to see what I have left in the tank," said Booker T. "That's the match that - like I said, I'm not looking to scratch any itch or anything like that - but I really think that's a match which would motivate me to actually get in as tip-top shape as I possibly can. At this stage of the game, to be able to go out there and just do it, just to say I did, because the dude, man, he's good."
Roman Reigns is set to defend his Universal Championship against WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg at Elimination Chamber later this month. Assuming he wins that match, Reigns also has another major challenger lined up. 2022 Royal Rumble winner Brock Lesnar has already announced that he'll be challenging The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania 38.
