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Once again, the last seven days in WWE have been just as newsworthy off-screen than the in-ring product has been on-screen.
Much of this week’s WWE programming has revolved around the multiple invasions between RAW, SmackDown and NXT ahead of the battle of brand supremacy at Survivor Series, while CM Punk’s first appearance as an analyst on WWE Backstage also got a lot of people talking.
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, we learned a fascinating story about a Superstar who was rehired by the company just one day after he was fired, and Randy Orton opened up on his mindset before he signed his latest WWE contract.
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In this article, let’s take a look at five of the most interesting WWE backstage stories from the last week.
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#5 WWE rehired Enzo Amore one day after firing him
One of the strangest stories of 2019 so far came on this week’s episode of Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast, which included an interview with former WWE Superstars nZo (fka Enzo Amore) and CazXL (fka Big Cass).
The three men were discussing how Amore earned a reputation for himself as a “heat magnet” during his early days with the company, especially after he suggested that his WWE ring name should be Canyon Ceman – the name of WWE’s Senior Director of Talent Development.
Amore went on to reveal that he was once fired from NXT after he broke wind during a Baron Corbin promo in promo class. He then turned up for work the next day like nothing had happened and he was allowed to remain with the company.
“One time we had a promo class [with] Dusty Rhodes, Baron Corbin was up there cutting a terrible promo. Baron was trying to get help and Dusty was helping him, and I just raised my hand and everybody looked at me, and I just farted, loud as hell. They fined me two hundred and fifty dollars, fired me that night, and then I got back into work the next day and they rehired me.”
#4 The truth behind Randy Orton’s AEW hints
Randy Orton recently signed a new deal to keep him with WWE until 2024, but it looked for a long time as though he could sensationally leave the company in 2020 and choose to join AEW.
Speaking on this week’s After The Bell with Corey Graves, the 13-time World Champion clarified that he was only joking around when he teased on multiple occasions that he could be interested in signing for Tony Khan’s company.
He also revealed that he never seriously considered leaving WWE, where he has been for the last 18 years of his career.
“This may be upsetting for some people, but I never really saw myself leaving WWE. To me, it was about getting to a point where I’m happy and what I’m doing in my body, the amount of time that I’m gone from my family. In the end, it’s all going to be worth it, and that’s where I’m at right now, so I’m definitely happy being a WWE Superstar.”
With at least five years ahead of him as a WWE Superstar, Orton is the only current in-ring performer who could realistically equal or surpass Ric Flair and John Cena’s record tally of 16 World Championships.
#3 How Goldberg felt about working with Dolph Ziggler
In June 2019, many fans called for Goldberg to retire as an in-ring competitor after he legitimately knocked himself out in the main event of Super ShowDown against The Undertaker, causing the rest of the match to be full of miscommunications and mistakes.
Two months later, the WWE Hall of Famer made a surprisingly swift return to the ring by winning a two-minute match at SummerSlam against Dolph Ziggler, who had been mocking the former WCW star's in-ring ability.
On-screen, Goldberg is a man not to be messed with, and he could easily be described as the most intense Superstar of his generation. Off-screen, however, the man behind the menacing character is very different to his television persona, as he proved during an interview with Sports Illustrated this week.
Regarding his SummerSlam match against Ziggler, Goldberg said in the out-of-character interview that he greatly appreciates that the two-time World Heavyweight Champion agreed to lose to him in quick fashion.
"I am greatly appreciative of what he did for me, and for his professionalism. I can’t say thank you enough."
#2 Brock Lesnar’s Crown Jewel altercation
If Goldberg is a man not to be messed with, Brock Lesnar is a man definitely not to be messed with.
Over the last 17 years, “The Beast” has earned a reputation for himself as one of the toughest Superstars in WWE history. Not only is he doing the job simply for the money, according to the man himself, but he has his own locker room at WWE shows and he hardly communicates with any of his fellow Superstars backstage.
With that being said, the last thing anybody would want to do in the presence of Lesnar is pick a fight with him, or so you would think.
Speaking in a recent interview with Tyson Fury’s brother, Tommy Fury, iFL TV interviewer Kugan Cassius hilariously revealed that a member of Fury’s team – Tim Allcock – offered to fight Lesnar backstage at Crown Jewel, which resulted in a complaint being made about him.
“Brock Lesnar, according to Tim, said to him, ‘What are you looking at?’ and he went, ‘What do you mean what am I looking at? What, do you want a fight or something? Come on, then.’ And then there was a complaint made about Tim over that comment, but Tim was saying, ‘I was ready.’”
#1 CM Punk’s in-ring future
The biggest topic of conversation amongst wrestling fans over the last week has revolved around CM Punk, who made his first appearance as a WWE analyst on WWE Backstage on Tuesday.
His FOX debut happened to take place in the same week that WWE is holding four shows in a row in Chicago, where Punk lives, which has led to inevitable speculation that the former WWE Champion could appear at Survivor Series.
However, speaking in a media call after Saturday's NXT TakeOver: WarGames event, Triple H revealed that he has not spoken to Punk about an in-ring return, so a possible comeback over the next few days can officially be ruled out.
"I have not spoken to him. To be honest, we have not had that conversation. I know he's working for FOX and it's a bit of an arm's length from us. All of this stuff is baby steps, when people want something so bad, it's like they're saying, 'So you're saying there's a chance.' That's the moment of time that we're in."
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