5 WWE backstage stories we learned this week: Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks, Triple H, more!

#4 Lio Rush’s return had been planned for a long time

Lio Rush made his long-awaited return to WWE television by defeating Oney Lorcan on Wednesday’s two-hour episode of NXT to become the new #1 contender for Drew Gulak’s Cruiserweight Championship.

The future of “The Man of the Hour” in WWE had looked uncertain after he split from Bobby Lashley following WrestleMania 35 and began to work on projects outside of the wrestling business, including releasing his own music.

Various WWE Superstars have previously spoken about how their returns or debuts were arranged at the last minute. Baron Corbin, for example, found out about his WrestleMania 32 debut one day before the show, and it was recently reported that Luke Harper’s return was finalised in the days leading up to Clash of Champions.

In Rush’s case, NXT boss Triple H revealed in a conference call after this week’s show that the cruiserweight’s return was “not a recent development” and it was something that had been discussed “for a while”.

He added that he sees Rush as a “money performer” and is looking forward to working with him more in the future.